Gender and race differences in criminal justice processing

Abstract

The importance of gender and race as critical variables in criminal justice system processing is highlighted in this article. These processes influence women and minority racial groups as victims and as offenders. The article addresses the situation in the United States between 1970 and 1985 primarily, but the focus on gender and race has application to many other countries.Following a brief historical assessment of the processing of black and white females, characteristics of female offenders are examined. Analysis of court processing highlights sex differences in pleas, bargaining, and sentencing. The experience of sentencing reform in one state is examined, followed by a report of the commitment and incarceration of women in one state over a ten-year interval. These findings support the conclusion that gender and race must be analysed as critical independent and intervening variables in studies of arrest, court processing, sentencing, and incarceration.