This article describes a unique researcher and policymaker partnership aimed at assessing the racial and ethnic impact of proposed criminal justice legislation. Using data from several Florida agencies, Florida State University projected trends in population and criminal justice outcomes to assess the potential impact on racial and ethnic disparities of ten bills. This article describes the project phases, provides examples of the bill analyses, and discusses the lessons learned and impact on racial/ethnic disparities. The results of the analyses show that race-neutral reform initiatives often fall short in reducing racial/ethnic disparities. Criminal justice downsizing efforts should explicitly aim to reduce racial and ethnic disparities and incorporate this goal in their design. Specific provisions that exclude individuals with prior records or those convicted of violent offenses could prove detrimental to the goal of reducing disparities. The benefits and challenges of researcher and policymaker partnerships for designing effective and race-sensitive criminal justice policy are discussed.

本文介绍了一种独特的研究人员和决策者合作伙伴关系，旨在评估拟议的刑事司法立法对种族和族裔的影响。佛罗里达州立大学使用佛罗里达州几家机构的数据，预测了人口和刑事司法结果的趋势，以评估十张钞票对种族和族裔差异的潜在影响。本文介绍了项目阶段，提供了账单分析的示例，并讨论了经验教训以及对种族/族裔差异的影响。分析结果表明，在减少种族/族裔差异方面，种族中立的改革倡议往往不足。缩小刑事司法规模的努力应明确旨在减少种族和族裔差异，并将这一目标纳入其设计。排除事先有记录的人或被判犯有暴力罪行的人的具体规定可能会不利于减少差距。讨论了研究人员和决策者合作伙伴关系在设计有效且对种族敏感的刑事司法政策时的收益和挑战。