Publisher's Synopsis
The continuing gap between the percentages of black and white people who enter the criminal justice system, in particular prisons, raises an old but important question of whether the over-representation is the result of proportionately more black than white people committing offenses or offenses of a particular kind, or whether it is the result of racial bias in the administration of criminal justice. This book, based on a five-year study, provides evidence which suggests that race is an important factor in criminal justice decision-making, notwithstanding the influence of legal and non-legal factors. The book concludes that the racial differences discovered with respect to police action and court sentencing were not attributed to a significant propensity to commit offenses of a particular kind by one racial group of defendants when compared to other groups. The important new material presented in this book informs debate and will be of keen interest to everyone engaged in the administration of criminal justice, campaigners on criminal justice and race issues and to teachers, students and researchers in the field.
