As an extra-legal factor, social context is a key contributor to racial/ethnic disparities in incarceration sentences. Neighborhoods may have important, yet underexplored influences on sentencing. This study evaluates whether the social conditions and racial characteristics of communities where defendants allegedly offend affect Black-White sentencing disparities. Three-level multilevel model results suggest larger Black populations in neighborhoods of criminal incident increase the odds of incarceration and, to a lesser extent, lengthen sentences for all defendants. Offending outside one’s residential community increases the probability and length of a prison sentence. Neighbourhood effects differ by race, however. Unlike Whites, Blacks receive more punitive sentences for committing offences in disadvantaged areas and less proportionally Black communities. Neighbourhoods thus contribute to racial differences in sentencing outcomes.

中文翻译：

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社区、犯罪事件、种族和量刑：探索监禁判决中差异的种族和社会背景

作为一个法外因素，社会背景是监禁判决中种族/民族差异的关键因素。社区可能对量刑有重要但尚未充分探索的影响。本研究评估了被告涉嫌犯罪的社区的社会条件和种族特征是否会影响黑白量刑差异。三级多级模型结果表明，犯罪事件社区中较大的黑人人口增加了监禁的几率，并且在较小程度上延长了所有被告的刑期。在居住社区外犯罪会增加入狱的可能性和刑期。然而，邻里效应因种族而异。与白人不同，黑人因在弱势地区和比例较低的黑人社区犯罪而受到更多的惩罚性判决。因此，社区导致量刑结果的种族差异。