Studying Ethnic Disparities in Various Sentencing Outcomes: The Importance of Refining Ethnic Minority Measures and the Role of Pretrial Detention

• In Event: International Research on Sentencing and Sentencing Disparities

Abstract

Ethnic and racial disparities in sentencing receive considerable scholarly inquiry. Much of this research, however, is limited to black/white or black/white/Hispanic comparisons in the United States. This study examines ethnic disparities in more detail by comparing sentencing decisions for several understudied (specific) ethnic minority groups, such as Surinamese and Moroccan suspects, within the Dutch sentencing context. Moreover, this study addresses the fundamental issue about how distinct immigrant generations are sanctioned and whether this is a marker of stratification. Combined official record data from the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Probation Service were analyzed to investigate ethnic disparities in pretrial and various final sentencing decisions, such as imprisonment, other types of punishment, and a combination of various sanctions. Our findings demonstrate that there are first generation and second generation ethnic disparities in pretrial and various sentencing decisions, but also that these ethnic disparities differ between distinct sentencing decisions and between immigrant generations. Additionally, the findings highlight the importance of pretrial detention in explaining ethnic disparities in sentencing, and for final sentencing decisions in general. These findings contribute to ongoing scholarly debates over determinants of criminal punishment in international context.

Authors

• Hilde Wermink, Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University

• Sigrid van Wingerden, Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University