Data finds racial disparities in Indianapolis’ criminal justice system, from children to adults

Newly released data found racial disparities in Indianapolis’s criminal justice system, creating a cradle to prison pipeline.

The data made public Thursday was collected by SAVI, a program housed within the Polis Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The data shows the disparities start early in life, and that children of color and those with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by disciplinary action in Marion County schools. These students are then more likely to be charged with crimes as children and then later as adults.

The data also found that Indianapolis has the fifth-highest imprisonment rate in the country among Black men and the highest imprisonment rate of white men.

Rebecca Nannery, a senior research analyst with the Polis Center, said the data shows that children in Indianapolis need more support to prevent them from getting involved with the criminal justice system.

“This is a case where we certainly need to examine that and invest in our young people and give them the support and the skills that they need to be successful,” Nannery said.

In Indianapolis, Black students receive more in and out-of-school suspensions than white students, according to the data. Nannery said when students are taken out of the classroom, particularly with out-of-school suspensions, they are more likely to encounter crime.

Nannery added that children of color are more likely to have adverse childhood experiences, such as growing up in a neighborhood that has a high crime rate.

“That influences children as they grow up and schools and organizations need to be granted the resources to be able to work with these young people specifically to address the impact of trauma on their lives, help them build skills to be able to work through conflict and process their own emotions and experiences,” Nannery said.

Contact WFYI criminal justice reporter Katrina Pross at kpross@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @katrina_pross.

Pross is a Corps Member of Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project.