Testing the interrelationship between area deprivation and ethnic disparities in sentencing

Pina‐Sánchez, Jose, Morales, Ana, Guilfoyle, Eoin, Veiga, Ana and Geneletti, Sara ORCID: 0000-0001-6456-7258 (2025) Testing the interrelationship between area deprivation and ethnic disparities in sentencing. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 25 (1). ISSN 1529-7489

Text (Anal Soc Iss Public Policy - 2025 - Pina‐Sánchez - Testing the interrelationship between area deprivation and ethnic) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (357kB)

Abstract

In the examination of sentencing disparities, hypotheses related to social class have been relatively overlooked compared to explanations centered on offenders' ethnicity. This oversight is regrettable as both factors often intertwine. In this study, we investigate the mediating and moderating effects between offenders' residential area deprivation and their ethnic background using administrative data encompassing all offences processed through the England and Wales Crown Court. Our findings reveal the following: (i) substantial ethnic disparities among drug offenders, but mostly non‐existent across other offence categories; (ii) area deprivation does not explain away the observed ethnic disparities, but pronounced area disparities are found for breach and assault offenses, wherein offenders living in deprived areas are penalized compared to their more affluent counterparts; and (iii) ethnicity and area deprivation interact, but only for breach offenses.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Statistics
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Date Deposited:	23 Jan 2025 13:21
Last Modified:	23 Jan 2025 19:03
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/127033

Actions (login required)

View Item