Ethnicity and Criminal Convictions: Results of a 21-year Longitudinal Study
| Author | L. John Horwood,Nicola Swain-Campbell,David M. Fergusson |
| Published date | 01 December 2003 |
| Date | 01 December 2003 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1375/acri.36.3.354 |
354 THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY
VOLUME 36 NUMBER 3 2003 PP.354–367
Address for correspondence: Professor David Fergusson, Christchurch Health and
Development Study, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, PO Box 4345,
Christchurch, New Zealand. Email: david.fergusson@chmeds.ac.nz
Ethnicity and Criminal Convictions:
Results of a 21-year Longitudinal Study
David M. Fergusson, L.John Horwood and Nicola Swain-Campbell
Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, New Zealand
This study explores possible ethnic bias in rates of officially recorded
convictions among a birth cohort of New Zealand young people
studied to age 21 years. Data were gathered as part of the Christchurch
Health and Development Study.In this project a cohort of 1265 children
born in Christchurch in 1977 have been studied from birth to age 21
years. The measures collected included: officially recorded convictions
(17–21 years), self-reported ethnicity (21 years), self-reported offending
(17–21 years), family socioeconomic status,leaving school without qualifi-
cations, and gender. Young Maori had rates of conviction that were
between 4.1–5.9 times higher than for non-Maori. Much of this associa-
tion was explained by the fact that Maori also reported higher rates of
offending. However,even after statistical control for self-reported offend-
ing and individual characteristics (gender, socioeconomic status and
educational qualifications) Maori still had rates of conviction that were
1.6–1.8 times higher than non-Maori These results suggest the presence
of a small bias in the arrest/conviction process which leads to Maori
offenders having higher rates of conviction than non-Maori offenders
with similar offending history and socioeconomic background.
It has been well established that, within New Zealand, individuals who identify as
Maori have higher rates of officially recorded offences than non-Maori individuals
(Fifield & Donnell, 1980; Lovell & Norris, 1990; Newbold, 2000; Spier, 2001). In
turn, the higher rate of Maori offending has led to a search for the origins of ethnic
differences in criminal offending (Newbold, 1992). One explanation has been that
these differences are largely or wholly illusory and arise from differences in the way
in which the criminal justice system in New Zealand deals with offenders of differing
ethnic background. Specifically, it has been suggested that Maori rates of conviction
are inflated by discriminatory processes that place Maori offenders at greater risk of
being arrested and convicted (Duncan, 1990; Fifield & Donnell, 1980; Hampton,
1974; Jackson, 1988; Newbold, 2000; Pratt, 1990). These discriminatory processes
may include bias in police arrest practices and cultural biases within the justice
system that place Maori at greater risk of being convicted when they appear before
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