Race and Ethnicity in the Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems by Jennifer H Peck

Author:Jennifer H Peck [Peck, Jennifer H]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138286474
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2017-03-14T00:00:00+00:00

Limitations

While this study draws on useful data from a wide cross section of recent police and court cases in a large, diverse state, there are certainly some limitations underlying these findings. Our sample comes from many of the larger counties in the state that was studied, but it is possible that the inferences would not fully generalize to other counties in the state and other states across the country. Additionally, the quantitative data were arguably stronger in terms of breadth of measurement (volume of cases) as opposed to depth (range of variables and detail). For instance, the ‘dismissal’ variable could encompass a few different types of decisions that have different connotations (e.g., dismissal for lack of evidence versus dismissal based on some alternative programming). To elaborate on the current findings, future analysis and data collection should focus on obtaining more detailed data on case outcomes, the type of weapons involved, and specific types and amount of substances that youth were accused of possessing.

It is also possible that some legally relevant variables that might further confound the relationship between race and case outcomes were not available here. Nevertheless, the general effects of the main variables are of reasonable size and therefore it would require a large effect from an omitted variable to fully obviate their relationships to justice outcomes. Beyond appropriately estimating the race effects, inclusion of some other variables like school and living arrangement might help in elaborating the possible factors affecting juvenile justice decision-making. Analytically, there may also be some selection effects that should be more directly specified and tested in future research (see, e.g., MacDonald 2001). Lastly, the qualitative data mainly draw on the perspectives of system actors. Future research should ask similar questions of youth, family members, and community leaders to provide a more comprehensive perspective on DMC with the juvenile justice system.

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