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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 10:37 pm
Time: 10:37 pm
Results for minorities in criminal justice
1 results foundAuthor: Illinois Disproportionate Justice Impact Study Commission Title: Illinois Disproportionate Justice Impact Study Commission: Final Report Summary: In October of 2008, Senate Bill 2476 became law in Illinois. Passed unanimously by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by the Governor, Public Act 095-0995 established the Illinois Disproportionate Justice Impact Study (DJIS) Commission, a non-partisan, multi-disciplinary group of policymakers, agency leaders, and justice professionals charged with examining the impact of Illinois drug laws on racial and ethnic groups and the resulting over-representation of racial and ethnic minority groups in the Illinois criminal justice system. The Commission was tasked with making recommendations to mitigate or eliminate that disproportionality. This report reflects the outcome of that effort in accordance with the law. The legislation that became PA 095-0995 was premised on the observation that although rates of drug use among racial and ethnic groups are similar (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2005; 2009), African Americans and Latinos are arrested, convicted, and incarcerated for drug crimes far more frequently than whites. National surveys consistently show that African Americans, whites, and Latinos are equally likely to use drugs relative to their representation in the general population, but the criminal justice consequences for drug involvement disproportionately affect minorities — particularly young, African-American men in poor, urban communities (The Sentencing Project, 1999). With both anecdotal and statistical evidence demonstrating that Illinois reflected these national trends, the General Assembly sought to better understand the scope and nature of disproportionality in Illinois, to identify potential causes of that disproportionality, and ultimately to offer solutions on opportunities to eliminate it. The Illinois DJIS Commission pursued four primary courses of activity: • Conducting a meta-review of the national and Illinois context for disproportionate minority contact with the justice system. Conducting independent research examining data on the arrest, prosecution, and sentencing of different racial and ethnic groups for drug law violations in Illinois. • Convening a Research Advisory Group and a Policy Advisory Group to review the research and analysis and provide access to additional data and insight. • Conducting three public hearings in the spring of 2010 in Chicago, Joliet, and East St. Louis, Illinois. This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Commission. Details: Chicago: The Commission, 2010. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2011 at: http://www.centerforhealthandjustice.org/DJIS_FullReport_1229.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.centerforhealthandjustice.org/DJIS_FullReport_1229.pdf Shelf Number: 120763 Keywords: Drug OffendersMinorities in Criminal JusticeRace/EthnicityRacial Discrimination (Illinois) |