When does Race and Gender Matter? The Interrelationships between the Gender of Probation Officers and Juvenile Court Detention and Intake Outcomes

Abstract

Racial and gender disparities in case outcomes have recently been explained by a focus on the characteristics of court officers within the context of the interplay between discretion, stereotyping, and the perceptions of decision-makers. Using data within a single juvenile court jurisdiction, the present study continues this line of inquiry to assess: (1) how race and gender, individually and in combination, influence juvenile justice decision-making and (2) how court outcomes for certain race/gender combinations are conditioned by the gender of the court officer. Results indicate that, to some degree, the race and gender of the youth along with the gender of the court officer influenced case outcomes; however, the findings were not always in the expected direction. The results have implications for broadening the contexts of detention and intake decision-making, and may also better inform efforts to address the equitable treatment of youth in the juvenile justice system.

Keywords:

• race
• gender
• court officer
• juvenile justice decision-making

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Erratum

Notes

An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting, Philadelphia, PA, February 19, 2014.

¹ For more comprehensive reviews of the literature on race and juvenile court outcomes, see Bishop and Leiber (2012); for gender, see Tracy and colleagues (2009); for race and gender, see Zatz (2000) and Guevara et al. (2006).

² Assessing data over a 20-year period and missing two years of data (2001/2002) could alter potential race/gender relationships with case outcomes. Controlling for referral year with one variable instead of a dummy variable for each of the twenty years may also mask potential race and/or gender effects. However, the limited amount of turnover across the 20-year period in court personnel can decrease the likelihood of imprecise findings.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael J. Leiber

Michael J. Leiber is chair and professor in Criminology at the University of South Florida. He earned his doctorate in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Albany. His main research interests and publications lie in juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice, and race/ethnicity. Currently, he serves as the editor of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association journal, the Journal of Crime & Justice.

Jennifer H. Peck

Jennifer H. Peck is an assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University. Her recent research has been accepted for publication in Crime & Delinquency, Deviant Behavior, and the Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. Her research interests include the role of race and ethnicity in the juvenile justice system and criminological theory.

Maude Beaudry-Cyr

Maude Beaudry-Cyr is a doctoral student at the University of South Florida and completed her MA in Criminology from the University of South Florida in 2013. Her research interests include racial/ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system, racial/ethnic disparities, drug use, and mental illness in the criminal justice system, and predictors and theoretical explanations for continued criminality.