Exploring Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in the Military Justice System
Abstract
The Office of Force Resiliency within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness asked to address an FY 2020 NDAA mandate to assess racial, ethnic, and gender (REG) disparities in the military justice system (MJS). We collected and assessed the relevant data from the military services and used quantitative techniques to analyze whether disparities existed for several MJS outcomes. We also analyzed whether controlling for various factors increased or decreased estimated disparities and whether disparities persisted even after taking these control variables into account. We found that across services, Black enlisted personnel are more likely than White enlisted personnel to be investigated and be involved in nonjudicial punishments and courts martial in some way. Once Black servicemembers cases are adjudicated, they are less likely to be found guilty of the charged offenses. These results persist even after controlling for the other factors. Our results indicate that policymakers should focus on studying how outcomes differ depending on whether the initial investigation is conducted by a professional military law enforcement agency or by the command, how commanding officers make their disposition decisions, and the relative strengths of cases brought against Black and White servicemembers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 21, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1206780
Entities
People
- Amanda Kraus
- Cathy Hiatt
- Dan Leeds
- David Reese
- Elizabeth Clelan
- Jared Huff
- Sarah Wilson
Organizations
- CNA ANALYSIS AND SOLUTIONS ALEXANDRIA VA