Whose Job is It Anyway? Criminal-Legal Professionals’ and Community Members’ Perceptions of System Disparities

Introduction: Racial disparities are documented throughout criminal-legal processing and are often attributed to discretionary legal decision making. Although prior research has shown how racial disparities can be introduced, maintained, or amplified with each decision, less is known about how criminal-legal professionals interpret disparities. Aim: This study examined how criminal-legal system stakeholders perceive the causes of racial disparities in their community. Methods: We administered a cross-sectional survey to 223 residents in a single Midwestern jurisdiction, including law enforcement agents (21.1%), prosecutors (13.9%), public defenders (4.5%), judges (2.2%), community corrections officers (12.6%), and system-impacted residents (45.7%). Participants rated the extent to which various factors contribute to racial disparities and which different professionals contribute to or could address them. Results: Most participants attributed racial disparities to both structural and interpersonal factors—particularly socioeconomic status, different opportunities, and unconscious bias and stereotypes. Judges, police, and prosecutors were seen as the most responsible for and capable of addressing disparities. Law enforcement agents, however, uniquely emphasized individual-level factors like criminal behavior, suggesting a more interpersonal framing of disparities. Conclusion: As perspectives of disparity varied across roles, our findings necessitate deeper analysis to understand how each stakeholder's decisions contribute to cumulative inequality and foster cross-role collaboration.