Exploring the Potential for Racial and Gender Bias in Violations of Probation Petitions

Abstract

Juvenile offender data were examined in 1 county of 1 southern U.S. state, to explore whether racial and gender disparities in youth involved in the justice system were a factor in detention decisions for violations of probation. Probation officers were able to make relatively consistent decisions about detention for violation of probation, despite disproportionate demographic representation in the overall population that they work with. There remains, however, a substantial potential for subjective bias, suggesting that measures to assist probation officers in making such decisions would appear to have potential value in the field.