Neighborhoods, Criminal Incidents, Race, and Sentencing: Exploring the Racial and Social Context of Disparities in Incarceration Sentences

Date
2021-06-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The British Journal of Criminology: An International Review of Crime and Society
Abstract
As an extra-legal factor, social context is a key contributor to racial/ethnic disparities in incarceration sentences. Neighborhoods may have important, yet underexplored influences on sentencing. This study evaluates whether the social conditions and racial characteristics of communities where defendants allegedly offend affect Black-White sentencing disparities. Three-level multilevel model results suggest larger Black populations in neighborhoods of criminal incident increase the odds of incarceration and, to a lesser extent, lengthen sentences for all defendants. Offending outside one’s residential community increases the probability and length of a prison sentence. Neighbourhood effects differ by race, however. Unlike Whites, Blacks receive more punitive sentences for committing offences in disadvantaged areas and less proportionally Black communities. Neighbourhoods thus contribute to racial differences in sentencing outcomes.
Description
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in The British Journal of Criminology: An International Review of Crime and Society following peer review. The version of record Ellen A Donnelly, Neighborhoods, Criminal Incidents, Race, and Sentencing: Exploring the Racial and Social Context of Disparities in Incarceration Sentences, The British Journal of Criminology, Volume 62, Issue 1, January 2022, Pages 145–164, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azab046 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azab046. This article will be embargoed until 06/01/2023.
Keywords
Citation
Ellen A Donnelly, Neighborhoods, Criminal Incidents, Race, and Sentencing: Exploring the Racial and Social Context of Disparities in Incarceration Sentences, The British Journal of Criminology, Volume 62, Issue 1, January 2022, Pages 145–164, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azab046