Forecasting the Racial and Ethnic Impacts of ‘Race-Neutral’ Legislation through Researcher and Policymaker Partnerships
This article describes a unique researcher and policymaker partnership aimed at assessing the racial and ethnic impact of proposed criminal justice legislation. Using data from several Florida agencies, Florida State University projected trends in population and criminal justice outcomes to assess t...
| Authors: | ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
|
| In: |
American journal of criminal justice
Year: 2023, Volume: 48, Issue: 1, Pages: 123-150 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | This article describes a unique researcher and policymaker partnership aimed at assessing the racial and ethnic impact of proposed criminal justice legislation. Using data from several Florida agencies, Florida State University projected trends in population and criminal justice outcomes to assess the potential impact on racial and ethnic disparities of ten bills. This article describes the project phases, provides examples of the bill analyses, and discusses the lessons learned and impact on racial/ethnic disparities. The results of the analyses show that race-neutral reform initiatives often fall short in reducing racial/ethnic disparities. Criminal justice downsizing efforts should explicitly aim to reduce racial and ethnic disparities and incorporate this goal in their design. Specific provisions that exclude individuals with prior records or those convicted of violent offenses could prove detrimental to the goal of reducing disparities. The benefits and challenges of researcher and policymaker partnerships for designing effective and race-sensitive criminal justice policy are discussed. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1936-1351 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s12103-021-09619-8 |