Black Supporters of the No-Discrimination Thesis in Criminal Justice

Abstract

This study examined a national sample of more than 600 Black Americans and their views on bias in the American criminal justice system. The research found that 26% of the Black respondents did not believe there was bias in the American criminal justice system. To explore the segment of respondents holding these views, we separated the sample into Blacks who believe there is bias in the system (referred to as the discrimination thesis or DT supporters) and those who opposed this belief (referred to as the no-discrimination thesis or NDT supporters). The NDT supporters were more likely to be younger, male, less educated, and have lower income than those respondents who supported the DT. NDT supporters were also more likely to believe that Blacks and Whites had equal job opportunities, have more confidence in the police, and believe that racism was not widespread.

Keywords

public opinion racial bias in criminal justice no discrimination thesis discrimination thesis Blacks/African Americans

During the last quarter of the 20th century there was a legendary series of debates between William Wilbanks and Coramae Richey Mann. Wilbanks’ thought-provoking 1987 book, The Myth of a Racist Criminal Justice System, provided those who believed that racial disparities were an artifact of excessive offending, and not of racial bias, with a treatise to support what became known as the No-Discrimination Thesis (NDT), or the belief that race was not the central reason for the observed disparities across the criminal justice system (see also DeLisi & Regoli, 1999; Mac Donald, 2008).

Coramae Richey Mann’s response to Wilbanks was her acclaimed 1993 book, Unequal Justice: A Question of Color, which provided supporters of the Discrimination Thesis (DT) with strong scholarly evidence challenging Wilbanks’ perspective. While books on race and crime had been published before, and have been published since, these seminal books set the stage for the NDT versus the DT debate. Ironically, three short years after the publication of Mann’s book, Walker, Spohn, and De Lone (2012) created a Discrimination-Disparity continuum that provided a more expansive approach to contextualizing the level of discrimination in the criminal justice system. Their text provided a useful typology for researchers studying racial bias in the system because it pointed to specific levels of discrimination beyond the NDT and DT poles. Yet observers still often reduce the debate to the NDT and DT approaches.

The largest share of the NDT and DT debate and scholarship focuses on whether the police discriminate against minorities during the execution of their duties (see MacDonald, 2003; Rice & White, 2010). But there is also a considerable body of research examining racial bias in the court process and sentencing (for recent summaries, see Gabbidon & Taylor Greene, 2013; Walker et al., 2012). Another body of research has focused on public opinion of bias in the system and is also referred to as criminal injustice scholarship (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2010). This research focuses on public opinion of bias in the criminal justice system. Relying on an all-Black sample from a 2008 Gallup Poll, our emphasis was on the study of Black respondents who can be considered an invisible minority in public opinion research on race and crime issues (see Gabbidon, Higgins, & Wilder-Bonner, 2012). This term refers to those Blacks who do not adhere to standard opinions that are typically ascribed to Blacks. They have been referred to elsewhere as invisible because rarely are their views the focus of any substantive research in the field. Only recently have they garnered any serious scholarly interest (Gabbidon et al. 2012).

In the current study, this invisible minority represents those Blacks who do not believe that the American justice system is racially biased against Blacks. Why focus on this small minority of the Black population? Because past and current researchers have a tendency to write as though Blacks are monolithic in their experiences and thinking (cf. Georges-Abeyie, 1989). This has resulted in a limited scholarly emphasis on minorities who hold what are likely viewed as nontraditional views within the Black community. This study is an attempt to understand the characteristics of Black supporters of the NDT. In particular, the focus of the study was to investigate two questions: What are the demographic characteristics of Black supporters of the NDT; and what factors separate NDT supporters from DT supporters?

We view this study as being important because, at the most basic level, it advances the knowledge of the field. Just as there are countless studies on racial/ethnic minority groups within criminology, there should also be research devoted to subgroups within these populations that hold alternative views. Research devoted to these subgroups can help to determine their backgrounds and to discern why they hold their distinctive, and at times, unpopular viewpoints (at least within the Black community). In the absence of doing this, there is the potential to minimize their minority views and in the process lose out on the opportunity to understand the opinions of an even larger share of the Black community. More importantly, this additional knowledge will assist policy makers in making policy-oriented decisions that considers the diversity of opinions within the Black community.

The article continues with a review of the public opinion literature on criminal injustice and also discusses what we know on the topic. This is followed by the methodology and results sections. The discussion and conclusion follow.

Literature Review

In 1899, W. E. B. Du Bois published an important paper entitled, “The Negro and Crime.” In it, he provided several explanations for crime among African Americans, including the notorious convict lease system, the attitude of the courts, the lawlessness and barbarity of the mob, and segregation. Of these explanations, three of them were directly tied to the notion that there was bias in the administration of the criminal justice system (Du Bois, 1899a). After publishing additional seminal works that empirically uncovered bias in the justice system (Du Bois, 1899b, 1901), Du Bois devoted an early statewide (Georgia) public opinion poll to several hundred adults and juveniles to explore perceptions concerning the criminal justice system (Du Bois, 1904). Conducted during his notable tenure as the leader of the Atlanta University School of Social Scientific Research (see Du Bois, 1903; Gabbidon, 1999; Wright, 2002), the poll was among the first to uncover public views that reflect concerns about criminal injustice (Gabbidon, 2000, 2007).

In more recent times, there has been notable public opinion research devoted to the criminal justice system (Erskine, 1974; Flanagan & Longmire, 1996). But only a portion of this research has focused on criminal injustice. Polls during the 1960s were reflective of the turbulent times and had questions reflective of concerns including the role of race riots in the breakdown of law and order (Erskine, 1974). Hagan and Albonetti (1982) published an important article that examined the responses to slightly more than a thousand respondents who participated in a national study devoted to public perceptions of criminal injustice in the courts and administration of justice. Their research also included a measure to investigate the perceptions of race and criminal injustice. The researchers found that Black professionals and Whites had differing views on the criminal justice system. In particular, Whites felt the system was just, while Blacks largely felt that the system was unjust.

In the aftermath of the 1991 Rodney King beating and the sensationalistic O. J. Simpson trial of the mid-1990s in which serious questions about police misconduct arose, another important article was published that provided additional insight into racial differences on public opinion on race and criminal injustice. Henderson, Cullen, Cao, Browning, and Kopache (1997) conducted a citywide public opinion study of 240 Cincinnati residents, which compared the perceptions of White and Blacks on several aspects of criminal justice (police and courts). The researchers concluded from their results that “African Americans see the criminal justice system as racially biased, while the majority of Whites generally believe the system is racially neutral and reflects the ideal of equal treatment before the law” (Henderson et al., 1997, p. 455).

Since the work of Hagan and Albonetti, and Henderson and her colleagues, the research in the area has been expanded with a stream of studies that continue to reveal a racial divide in Black and White opinions on criminal justice issues. The existing literature has focused on the racial divide in public opinion on several aspects of the criminal justice system. One stream of research has investigated the divergent views of Blacks and Whites on the death penalty. Beginning in the 1970s, the racial divide in support for the death penalty has ranged from 20 to 40 percentage points (Arthur, 1998; Bobo & Johnson, 2004; Cochran & Chamlin, 2006; Johnson, 2006; Longmire, 1996; Unnever & Cullen, 2007). During this period Whites have consistently expressed greater support for the death penalty than Blacks. Even following the historic election of President Barack Obama, the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office, scholars continued to find that White racism accounted for some of the racial divide in public opinion on the death penalty (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2010; Johnson, 2008; Peffley & Hurwitz, 2010; Unnever & Cullen, 2007).

Unquestionably, the largest body of research on perceptions of criminal injustice is devoted to policing. The large-scale public opinion on police bias has consistently revealed a racial divide in that Blacks believe that police bias against Blacks is widespread, whereas Whites express less negative views about the police (Gabbidon & Higgins, 2009; Renauer & Covelli, 2011; Weitzer & Tuch, 1999). Public opinion research in the late 1990s also began to examine public perceptions on the extent of discriminatory policing practices such as racial profiling. Here again, the views of Whites differed from those of Blacks. In particular, Blacks consistently expressed little support for racial profiling and also felt the tactic was being widely used (Higgins, Gabbidon, & Jordan, 2008; Higgins, Gabbidon, & Vito, 2010; Weitzer & Tuch, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006). In addition to large-scale national polls on criminal injustice, some notable ethnographic research has also uncovered perceptions of racial criminal injustice (Brunson, 2007; Rios, 2011)

Besides policing, there has also been public opinion research that has revealed support for the racial divide in the courts (Buckler, Unnever, & Cullen, 2008) as well as opinions related to the overrepresentation of Blacks in the prison system (Unnever, 2008). Despite this substantial interest in race and criminal injustice, there is only one study that has been devoted to a substantive discussion about minorities whose views—on controversial and perceived racist practices such as racial profiling—largely mirror those of Whites (Gabbidon et al., 2012). Our study aims to expand the knowledge in this area. The nature of our study is outlined below.

Current Study

This study builds on past research in two important ways. First, instead of comparing Black respondents to Whites and Hispanics, we use a Black-only sample. Our primary reason for solely relying on a Black sample was to compare Black NDT supporters to Black DT supporters. Since most of the existing criminal injustice research does not focus on the small percentage of Blacks who do not believe that race plays a role in criminal injustices, there is very little scholarship exploring this segment of the Black population (Gabbidon et al., 2012). Notably, recent criminological studies have also yielded fruitful results from all-Black samples (Gabbidon, Higgins, & Potter, 2011; Smith, Kirchner, Higgins, & Khey, 2011).

Second, given the recent scholarship on Black supporters of racial profiling, there is now baseline research to examine whether the characteristics of Black DT supporters hold true for Blacks who support the NDT. In essence, are there some commonalities that are representative of those Blacks who hold these nontraditional views? Researchers, for example, studying Black supporters of racial profiling found that they were more likely to be female, live in the Southern United States, and be politically conservative (Gabbidon et al., 2012). Our research also expands these recent findings by investigating whether there are differences among the groups in relation to how they view opportunities in society, the extent of racism in society, and how much confidence they have in the police. We anticipate that Blacks who support the NDT are likely to be more positive about the general state of race relations and racial equality, and have more confidence in the police.

Method

Conducted by the Gallup Organization, the 2008 Minority Rights and Relations/Black-White Social Audit was the data source for this research. The national poll was conducted from June 5 to July 6 of 2008. Of the 1,935 participants, there were 647 Black respondents. The poll also included 283 cell phone users. The margin of error for the Black sample was ±5 percentage points.

Measures

Dependent Variable

The dependent variable was “Do you think the American justice system is—or is not—biased against Blacks?” The variable was measured as a dichotomy. Those who believed the criminal justice is biased against Blacks are coded as 0; those who do not believe the system is biased against Blacks are coded as 1. The latter group represented those who believe in the no-discrimination thesis.

Independent Variables

A strong attempt was made to examine factors that have been empirically and/or theoretically linked to public opinion research on criminal justice issues (Higgins et al., 2008). Age was measured across four age categories (i.e., 18-29, 30-49, 50-64, and 65+). Regarding gender, males are coded as 1, while females are coded as 0. Employment is also measured as a dichotomy. Employed respondents are coded as 1 and unemployed respondents are coded as 0. Marriage is coded as 1 for those who are married and 0 for those who are not married. If respondents have children under the age of 18, they are coded as 1, while those without children under age 18 are coded as 0. Church attendance is coded across five categories ranging from never to once per week. Education is measured across four categories ranging from high school or less to postgraduate. Income is measured as five categories (i.e., less than US$20k, US$20k to less than US$30k, US$30k to less than US$50k, US$50k to less than US$75k, and US$75k+). Ideology is measured on a 5-point scale from very conservative to very liberal.

We also include a variable on whether respondents feel racial minorities have equal job opportunities with Whites. Those who answer yes are coded as 1, and those who answer no are coded as 0. We also examine if respondents believe racism against Blacks is widespread in the United States. If they answer yes, they are coded as 1; those who answer no are coded as 0. These race relations−related questions were all the more meaningful because at the time of the poll, President Barack Obama had been selected as the Democratic nominee for the presidency. Finally, we include a variable on respondents’ confidence in local police to treat Blacks and Whites equally. The variable is measured on a 4-point scale that ranges from not at all to a great deal.

Results

Due to the dependent variable being measured as a dichotomy, multivariate logistic regression was chosen as the method of estimation (Mernard, 2010). Of those in the sample, 74% felt that the criminal justice system is biased against Blacks, while approximately 26% felt the system was not biased against Blacks.

Descriptive Statistics

The descriptive statistics are presented in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1 provides the general characteristics of the entire sample, while Table 2 provides the characteristics based on whether respondents felt the criminal justice system is biased against Blacks. In examining Table 1, the overall sample was most likely to be between 30 and 65 years old. In addition, the majority of the respondents were female. Slightly more than half of the respondents were employed, and approximately one-third were married and had children below age 18. Of all the church attendance categories, the category with the largest response was overwhelmingly “once a week.” Regarding education, more than 60% of the sample had some college education or beyond, while almost 40% had an income of at least US$50,000. In focusing on ideology, almost one half of the respondents were moderate. A considerably large number of Blacks (almost 80%) felt that racial minorities did not have equal job opportunities with Whites and that racism against Blacks is widespread in the United States. Finally, in examining confidence in local police to treat Blacks and Whites equally, the two most populous categories were “not much,” and “a fair amount.”

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics for All Variables.

Variable	N	Percentage
Age
18-29	118	18.2%
30-49	219	33.9%
50-64	198	30.6%
65+	112	17.3%
Gender
Male	245	37.9%
Female	402	62.1%
Employment
Employed	368	56.9%
Not employed	279	43.1%
Married
Yes	222	34.3%
No	425	65.7%
Children below 18
Yes	211	32.6%
No	436	67.4%
Church attendance
Never	42	6.5%
Seldom	128	19.8%
Once a month	108	16.7%
Almost every week	100	15.5%
Once a week	269	41.6%
Education
High school or less	243	37.6%
Some college	197	30.4%
College graduate	107	16.5%
Postgraduate	100	15.5%
Income
Less than US$20,000	108	16.7%
US$20,000-US$29,999	101	15.6%
US$30,0000-US$49,999	191	29.5%
US$50,000-US$74,999	121	18.7%
US$75,000+	126	19.5%
Ideology
Very conservative	50	7.7%
Conservative	120	18.5%
Moderate	306	47.3%
Liberal	122	18.9%
Very liberal	49	7.6%
Racial minorities have equal job opportunities with Whites
Yes	134	20.7%
No	513	79.3%
Racism against Blacks widespread in United States
Yes	513	79.3%
No	134	20.7%
Confidence in local police to treat Blacks and Whites equally
Not at all	101	15.6%
Not much	206	31.8%
A fair amount	249	38.5%
A great deal	91	14.1%
Criminal justice system biased against Blacks
No (NDT)	166	25.7%
Yes (DT)	481	74.3%

Table 2.

Descriptive Statistics for All Variables, Based on Perceived NDT.

	No-discrimination thesis		Discrimination thesis
Variable	N	Percentage	N	Percentage
Age**
18-29	44	26.5%	74	15.4%
30-49	52	31.3%	167	34.7%
50-64	32	19.3%	166	34.5%
65+	38	22.9%	74	15.4%
Gender*
Male	74	44.6%	171	35.6%
Female	92	55.4%	310	64.4%
Employment
Employed	93	56.0%	275	57.2%
Not employed	73	44.0%	206	42.8%
Married
Yes	54	32.5%	168	34.9%
No	112	67.5%	313	65.1%
Children below 18
Yes	54	32.5%	157	32.6%
No	112	67.5%	324	67.4%
Church attendance
Never	10	6.0%	32	6.7%
Seldom	25	15.1%	103	21.4%
Once a month	33	19.9%	75	15.6%
Almost every week	29	17.5%	71	14.8%
Once a week	69	41.6%	200	41.6%
Education**
High school or less	78	47.6%	165	34.3%
Some college	47	30.4%	150	31.2%
College graduate	28	16.5%	79	16.4%
Postgraduate	13	15.5%	87	18.1%
Income**
Less than US$20,000	42	25.3%	66	13.7%
US$20,000-US$29,999	25	15.1%	76	15.8%
US$30,0000-US$49,999	50	30.1%	141	29.3%
US$50,000-US$74,999	22	13.3%	99	20.6%
US$75,000+	27	16.3%	99	20.6%
Ideology
Very conservative	19	11.4%	31	6.4%
Conservative	28	16.9%	92	19.1%
Moderate	78	47.0%	228	47.4%
Liberal	24	14.5%	98	20.4%
Very liberal	17	10.2%	32	6.7%
Racial minorities have equal job opportunities with Whites**
Yes	72	43.4%	62	12.9%
No	94	56.6%	419	87.1%
Racism against Blacks widespread in United States**
Yes	96	57.8%	417	86.7%
No	70	42.2%	64	13.3%
Confidence in local police to treat Blacks and Whites equally**
Not at all	18	10.8%	83	17.3%
Not much	27	16.3%	179	37.2%
A fair amount	83	50.0%	166	34.5%
A great deal	38	22.9%	53	11.0%

p < .05. **p < .01.

As mentioned earlier, Table 2 also presents descriptive statistics, but it is separated by whether the respondents believed in the no-discrimination thesis. We did run a chi-square analysis to determine, at the bivariate level, if there was a significant relationship between the independent variables and respondents’ perception of NDT. There were seven significant findings. Older Blacks, females, more educated, and higher income respondents were less likely to believe in the NDT. In addition, those who do not believe racial minorities and Whites have equal job opportunities and those who do believe racism against Blacks is widespread are less likely to believe in NDT. Finally, regarding confidence in police to treat Blacks and Whites equally at the bivariate level, increased confidence tends to be associated with a higher likelihood of supporting the NDT.

Multivariate Results

Table 3 presents the logistic regression estimates for examining the factors influencing perceptions of the no-discrimination thesis (i.e., criminal justice system not being biased against Blacks). There are several significant findings. Older respondents are less likely than younger to believe in the no-discrimination thesis (b = −0.23). Income is also significant. As income increases among respondents, they have a lower probability of believing in the no-discrimination thesis (b = −0.19). In addition, Blacks who feel that racial minorities have equal job opportunities as Whites are more likely to believe in the no-discrimination thesis (b = 1.13). Those who believe racism is widespread against Blacks are less likely to believe in the no-discrimination thesis (b = −1.38). Finally, as confidence in the police to treat Blacks and Whites equally increases, the more likely Black respondents believe in the no-discrimination thesis (b = 0.44). In fact, the odds ratio for that variable (1.55) indicates that as confidence increases by one unit, the odds of believing in the no-discrimination thesis increases by 55%.

Table 3.

Logistic Regression Estimates on Factors Influencing NDT (n = 647).

Variable	B	SE	Wald	Exp(B)
Gender	0.11	0.22	0.24	1.11
Age	−0.23	0.12	4.00*	0.80
Employed	0.14	0.23	0.40	1.15
Education	−0.20	0.11	3.18	0.82
Income	−0.19	0.09	3.95*	0.83
Ideology	0.05	0.09	0.29	1.05
Married	0.01	0.24	0.00	1.01
Children below 18	−0.01	0.23	0.00	0.99
Church attendance	0.05	0.08	0.46	1.06
Racial minorities have equal job opportunities (Yes = 1)	1.13	0.23	23.70**	3.08
Racism widespread against Blacks (Yes = 1)	−1.38	0.23	36.08**	0.25
Confidence in police to treat Blacks & Whites equally	0.44	0.12	14.54**	1.55
Model χ²	129.41**
−2 LL	607.44
Cox & Snell R²	0.18
Nagelkerke R²	0.27

p < .05. **p < .01.

In Table 4, we present a split model, based on gender. Generally speaking, the results mirror the full model in Table 3. However, age appears to be significant for males but not for females. Older Black males are less likely to believe in the no-discrimination thesis, as compared to younger Black males (b = −0.46). In addition, education is significant for females but not males. As Black females become more educated, the lower the probability of their believing in the no-discrimination thesis (b = −0.46). In fact, the z score indicates a significant interaction between education and gender, as education plays a significantly stronger impact for females than males (z = 2.52).

Table 4.

Split Model for Gender.

	Females				Males
Variable	B	SE	Wald	Exp(B)	B	SE	Wald	Exp(B)	\|Z\|
Age	−0.14	0.15	0.82	0.87	−0.46	0.20	5.43*	0.63	1.28
Employed	0.49	0.30	2.69	1.63	−0.34	0.38	0.81	0.71	1.71
Education	−0.46	0.15	9.14**	0.63	0.13	0.18	0.54	1.14	2.52**
Income	−0.13	0.13	1.12	0.88	−0.27	0.15	3.16	0.77	0.71
Ideology	0.00	0.11	0.00	1.00	0.18	0.16	1.26	1.20	0.93
Married	−0.22	0.31	0.50	0.80	0.22	0.41	0.29	1.25	0.86
Children below 18	−0.16	0.31	0.27	0.85	0.35	0.39	0.81	1.42	1.02
Church attendance	0.09	0.11	0.61	1.09	0.04	0.12	0.13	1.05	0.31
Racial minorities have equal job opportunities (Yes = 1)	0.93	0.32	8.4**	2.53	1.42	0.36	15.64**	4.14	1.02
Racism widespread against Blacks (Yes = 1)	−1.21	0.32	14.60**	0.30	−1.84	0.37	24.14**	0.16	1.29
Confidence in police to treat Blacks & Whites equally	0.42	0.15	7.42**	1.53	0.48	0.18	6.93**	1.62	0.26
Model χ²	70.36**				71.51**
−2LL	362.10				228.66
Cox & Snell R²	0.16				0.25
Nagelkerke R²	0.24				0.36

p < .05. **p < .01.

Discussion

This research provided a preliminary examination of Black supporters of the NDT. Our study found that Black supporters of NDT tended to be younger, male, less educated, and have lower income. They were also more likely to believe that Blacks and Whites had equal opportunities and that racism was not prevalent. Finally, Black supporters of the NDT had significantly more confidence in the police than those adhering to the DT. We consider these results more fully in the following paragraphs.

The finding that younger Blacks were less likely than older Blacks to be supporters of the NDT is possibly the product of older Blacks having lived through historical periods when the justice system was overtly complicit in racial oppression and had a reputation for brutalizing the Black community. Younger respondents are living in an era when there are less instances of overt police brutality and Blacks serve in leadership positions throughout the system. This progress has not only changed the system but has also improved the perceptions held by younger Blacks. Even so, this finding is still rather surprising considering that criminologists have concluded that young, Black males have been the target of aggressive policing tactics as well as punitive policies (Miller, 1996; Rios, 2011; Russell-Brown, 2009; Tonry, 2011). Clearly, a series of more direct questions asking why they are NDT supporters might have revealed additional nuances to this finding. The findings concerning education and income do align with past research. Those persons with less education are likely not as informed about the topic as more educated citizens. Consequently, those citizens with higher levels of education are apt to consider the considerable existing scholarship that has clearly pointed to some bias in the criminal justice system (Walker et al., 2012).

Income has also been found to play a role in support for ideas that align with both the NDT and DT. For example, Weitzer and Tuch (2002) found income to be significant in two models of their research on perceptions related to racial profiling. In particular, they write that “higher income respondents harbor[ed] more favorable opinions of their local police” and that this class of respondents reported more favorable treatment by the police (Weitzer & Tuch, 2002, p. 448). But, in contrast to these findings by Weitzer and Tuch, Unnever (2008) did not find that income had a significant influence on the views of Blacks pertaining to the causes of Black overrepresentation in imprisonment. This portends that more research needs to be done to better understand how income operates in public opinion studies on criminal injustice.

Another key finding is that Blacks who believe that racial minorities have equal job opportunities as Whites, and do not believe racism against Blacks is widespread, were more likely to be supporters of the NDT. This, too, makes intuitive sense. If you believe that racial discrimination is not pervasive in societal institutions, then it is less likely that your views on racial bias in the criminal justice system (including policing) will deviate from one’s other views. It is notable that, unlike in prior research, political ideology was not significant. Typically, Blacks who support the criminal justice system tend to be conservative in their political ideology (Gabbidon et al., 2012).

The split-sample multivariate analysis by gender provided a few additional findings. The finding that age is only significant for the opinions of Black males is suggestive of two things. First, as noted previously, younger Black males are more supportive of the NDT because they live in a totally different society than older Blacks have. Today, unlike in the past, Blacks have made major advances in society. At the time of the poll, for example, a Black man, Barack Obama, was the Democratic nominee for president. This is a far cry from the times that many older Black respondents lived through. In earlier times, pungent racism was the norm, not the exception. Second, there was a significant difference in the influence of education between the views of males and females. In particular, educated females were significantly more likely than males to express the belief that the American justice system was biased against Blacks. This finding could be a result of the fact that educated Black women stay well-informed about critical issues such as racial bias in the criminal justice system.

This research had several notable limitations. Though informative, as with comparable public opinion polls, there was no attempt by the Gallup organization to fully understand the views of the respondents. In other words, the Gallup poll did not include any open-ended question that requested additional insights from the respondents. Consequently, we are unaware why NDT supporters hold their opinions. The study was also limited to slightly more than 600 Black respondents. It would have been useful to have had a larger sample of NDT supporters. Since only 26% of the sample was classified as NDT supporters, one has to be cautious about making sweeping pronouncement from such limited data.

Conclusion

This study investigated the significant differences between those Blacks who perceive that there is racial bias in the American criminal justice system and those who do not share this view. The results showed that there were some substantive differences related to Blacks holding these distinct perspectives. Variables such as age, education, income, confidence in the police, and perceptions of opportunities for Blacks and Whites, were all important in understanding the differences in Black public opinion on the American criminal justice system. These findings are suggestive of the need for fewer out-group studies (comparisons of Whites and Blacks) and additional within-group studies (solely studying one racial group) that center on minority views within the Black community. The discipline has yet to seriously study this group, so there are ample avenues for additional research.

One notable area for future research is to determine how views of the criminal justice system are constructed in the Black community. In addition, it might be useful to consider not only the significant demographic and philosophical differences between Black supporters and nonsupporters of the DT but also exploring how each segment of the Black community views those holding opposing viewpoints. Such research has the potential to expand the perceptual research that has been devoted to race and criminal injustice. In other words, since the majority of Blacks believe there is bias in the American criminal justice system, do they see Blacks with opposing viewpoints as “sellouts” or “race traitors?” (see Kennedy, 2008). Such research has the potential to better understand the interpersonal dynamics that develop as a result of the contrasting ideologies on the American criminal justice system within the Black community.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Stephen Woods at Penn State for securing the data used in this article.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

Shaun L. Gabbidon is Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg. Dr. Gabbidon is the author of more than 100 scholarly publications including 11 books. His most recent book is the co-authored work, A Theory of African American Offending. His recent articles have appeared in Journal of Criminal Justice, Justice Quarterly, Criminal Justice & Behavior, and Police Quarterly. Professor Gabbidon currently serves as the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the SAGE journal Race and Justice: An International Journal.

Kareem L. Jordan is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. His most recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Juvenile Justice, Journal of Crime and Justice, and the International Journal of Police Science and Management. His research and teaching interests include juvenile delinquency, criminological theory, race and crime, and quantitative data analyses.

Everette B. Penn is Associate Professor of Criminology and Department Chair of Social and Cultural Sciences at the University of Houston- Clear Lake. He is the author of several publications on race, juvenile justice and international education. He as serves as Principal Investigator for a Community Oriented Policing Services grant program titled the Teen And Police Service (TAPS) Academy. Its purpose is to reduce the social distance between at-risk teens and the police.

George E. Higgins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Justice Administration at the University of Louisville. He received his PhD in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2001. He is currently the editor of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. His most recent publications appear or are forthcoming in Journal of Criminal Justice, Deviant Behavior, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Youth and Society, and American Journal of Criminal Justice.

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