Navigating the Carceral State: Race and Social Capital Before and After Justice Involvement

• In Event: Incarceration and the Life Course

Abstract

People rely on their social and community networks for informational, emotional, and economic assistance to navigate the criminal justice system. Social capital–resources available and derived through these social connections–could be beneficial both within the criminal justice system and for weathering the detrimental effects of possessing a criminal record. However, less work has examined the relationship between criminal justice contact and social networks/social capital. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, this paper explores the bi-directional relationship between social capital and criminal justice contact. We paint a descriptive picture of social capital and networks before and after contact with the criminal justice system among a cohort of young adults who came of age during the height of carceral expansion. We assess the association between social relationships, community involvement, and criminal justice contact (arrest, conviction, and incarceration) and whether these relationships differ by race/ethnicity, education, and the timing of criminal justice contact in the life course. We argue social capital is key to understanding inequality and opportunity for justice-involved youth throughout the early life course and as they transition into adulthood.

Authors

• Laura DeMarco, North Carolina State University

• Tom Leppard, North Carolina State University

• Sadé L. Lindsay, Cornell University