Examining Race and Gender Disparities in Restrictive Housing Placements, in a large U.S. State, 2010-2014 (ICPSR 37092)

Version Date: Sep 25, 2018

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Principal Investigator(s):
Melinda Tasca, Sam Houston State University; Jillian J. Turanovic, Florida State University

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37092.v1

Version V1

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Summary

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The data were obtained from one state prison system that was characterized by a diverse and rising prison population. This prison system housed more than 30,000 inmates across 15 institutions (14 men's facilities; 1 women's facility). The data contain information on inmates' placements into different housing units across all 15 state prison complexes, including designated maximum security, restrictive housing units. Inmates placed in restrictive housing were in lockdown the majority of the day, had limited work opportunities, and were closely monitored. These inmates were also escorted in full restraints within the institution. They experienced little recreational time, visitation and phone privileges, and few interactions with other inmates. The data contain information on inmates' housing placements, institutional misconduct, risk factors, demographic characteristics, criminal history, and offense information. These data provide information on every housing placement for each inmate, including the time spent in each placement, and the reasons documented by correctional staff for placing inmates in each housing unit. Demographic information includes inmate sex, race/ethnicity, and age.

The collection contains 1 Stata data file "Inmate-Housing-Placements-Data.dta" with 16 variables and 124,942 cases.

Citation

Tasca, Melinda, and Turanovic, Jillian J. Examining Race and Gender Disparities in Restrictive Housing Placements, in a large U.S. State, 2010-2014. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-09-25. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37092.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (2016-R2-CX-0043)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

United States

Restrictions

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2010-07-01 -- 2014-06-30

Date of Collection

2010-07-01 -- 2014-06-30

Data Collection Notes

  1. These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

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Study Purpose

To generate a broader understanding of racial and gender disparities in punishment, this study examined restrictive housing placement decisions.

Study Design

Using administrative records on all inmates released from prison in one large state between 2011 and 2014 (N = 33,143), this study assessed racial and ethnic disparities in men and women's: 1) placements into any segregation; 2) placements into particular types of segregation (i.e. administrative segregation, disciplinary and mental health segregation); 3) the length of time spent there; and 4) the reasons provided for these placements. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were estimated to assess these relationships. Given that multiple housing placements were recorded for each inmate (N = 124,942), multilevel modeling procedures were used (i.e. hierarchical logistic regression, hierarchical negative binomial regression).

Sample

The data contain information on all housing placements since 2010 for all White, Black, Latino/a, and Native American inmates with release dates between July 1st, 2010 and June 30th, 2014 (N = 33,143). Roughly 86.5 percent of inmates were male and 13.5 percent were female. Since there are multiple housing placements recorded for each inmate across multiple prison complexes, the data have a cross-classified hierarchical structure, and are organized at the person-placement level (N = 124,942 placements).

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Inmates from one state prison system in the United States (2010-2014).

Unit(s) of Observation

Prison housing placements

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

The data contain information on inmates' housing placements, institutional misconduct, risk factors, demographic characteristics, criminal history, and offense information. These data provide information on every housing placement for each inmate, including the time spent in each placement, and the reasons documented by correctional staff for placing inmates in each housing unit.

Response Rates

N/A

Presence of Common Scales

None

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Original Release Date

2018-09-25

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Weight

None

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Notes

  • These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

  • One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.