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Race and Incarceration in San Francisco: Two Years Later

NCJ Number
152732
Author(s)
C Hewitt; A D Shorter; M Godfrey
Date Published
1994
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A 1992 report by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice found that black residents of San Francisco had one of the highest incarceration rates in the United States.
Abstract
The initial response to this report was encouraging. The San Francisco Human Rights Commission convened a series of special investigatory hearings that culminated in the adoption of a resolution proposing that the city address the criminal justice system's racial imbalance. A study was conducted to compare incarceration rates of black and white males in San Francisco. Incarceration rates were obtained by adding the number of adult males in their respective racial groups in State prison, county jail, and the California Youth Authority. This study found that the incarceration rate for black males was twice the national average and 14 times higher than the incarceration rate for white males. Both black and Hispanic males were underrepresented in key decisionmaking positions in the criminal justice system. While black and Hispanic youth comprised 36 percent of San Francisco's population between 10 and 17 years of age, they accounted for about 70 percent of the daily detention population under the California Youth Authority. Policy implications of the disproportionate incarceration of black and Hispanic males are discussed, and recommendations are offered to eliminate the racial imbalance. 10 footnotes, 1 table, and 5 graphs