Understanding the Link Between Race/Ethnicity, Drug Offending, and Juvenile Court Outcomes

• NCJ Number: 253874
• Date Published: July 2017
• Author(s): Michael J. Leiber, Jennifer H. Peck, Melissa Lugo, Donna M. Bishop
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Award: Race, Juvenile Court Processing and Case Outcomes: Fluctuation or Stability?

Annotation

Applying base premises from Steen, Engen, and Gainey’s perspective concerning the dangerous drug offender stereotype, the current study examined the case outcomes of White, Black, and Hispanic youth charged with drug offenses and who match the stereotype of a “dangerous drug offender” (male drug seller with a prior record).

Abstract

Compared with criminal sentencing decisions, limited research has assessed the impact of an imagery of a “dangerous” offender on the interrelationships between race/ethnicity and juvenile court outcomes. The findings of the current study suggest that youth who fully matched the stereotype were more likely to receive harsher dispositions compared with those who have some or none of the characteristics, but the magnitude of these effects for Whites did not exceed those of Blacks and Hispanics. (Publisher abstract modified)