Black, Latino Defendants More Likely to Be Detained

Black and Latino defendants in Manhattan are more likely than their white or Asian counterparts to be held on bail or denied release altogether, a new study has found.

The research done by the Vera Institute of Justice, using data provided by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, found “Blacks were 10 percent more likely, Latinos 3 percent more likely, and Asians 21 percent less likely to be detained, when compared to similarly situated white defendants.”

The disparities are larger in misdemeanor cases “where Blacks were 20 percent more likely than whites to be detained,” according to the report.

By contrast, numbers show Black, Latino and Asian defendants “more likely to have their cases dismissed at any point, whether for felonies or misdemeanors.”

DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said “it is critically important for us to understand where and why disparities occur in the criminal justice system.”

The study, which examined more than 200,000 resolved cases over two years, was done to examine the role of race in the justice system. The Vera Institute, a nonprofit, found that the vast majority of the cases were prosecuted by the DA’s office with no significant differences based on race.

 

Source nydailynews.com