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Negative Images: A Simple Matter of Black and White?

NCJ Number
170215
Author(s)
B M Kirk
Date Published
1996
Length
183 pages
Annotation
This study investigated whether sentencing disparity existed between ethnic groups, whether sentencing disparity manifested itself in higher tariff sentencing of black defendants than of white defendants, and whether responsibility for sentencing disparity was partially associated with social inquiry report (SIR) content using a sample of 282 cases heard in the Wolverhampton, England, Juvenile Court in 1990 and 123 SIR's.
Abstract
The study found African-Caribbean defendants were over- represented and Asians were under-represented in the court population in relation to the ethnicity of the town's population between 10 and 17 years of age. It was also apparent that African- Caribbean defendants received disproportionately higher tariff sentences than white and Asian defendants. This disproportion could not be explained by offense seriousness, number of charges faced, or previous records. SIR's were generally framed more positively for black defendants than for white defendants in terms of the language used to describe individual defendants. Such positive framing, however, appeared to be offset by reference to stereotypical social background information that was perceived to cause offending. Recommendations for social work practice and changes to the juvenile justice system are discussed. Appendixes include a case information form and a SIR content analysis exercise. 146 references, 12 tables, and 2 figures