The consequences of an unequal and unjust criminal legal system are pervasive and destructive to every aspect of our society. In particular, the US has and continues to maintain a legacy of an unjust criminal legal system that disproportionately implicates people based on their race, class, gender, immigration status, sexual orientation, and location. With this in mind, this initiative advances research on the mechanisms that produce and maintain inequities within the criminal legal system and its broader consequences on society. Specifically, this group facilitates a platform for scholars to develop new and ongoing studies across these domains while supporting their efforts to secure needed resources.
Currently, the Policing Enforcement and Justice Working Group is conducting research exploring racial and ethnic profiling by state and local law enforcement. The working group was awarded a grant from the Russell Sage Foundation for support of their project, "Ethnic Profiling Under the Auspices of Community Safety", for the 2023-2025 time period. This research investigates the effect of 287(g) agreements on ethnic profiling of Hispanics in traffic stops by local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina.
Additionally, this working group is producing a manuscript titled, "DOJ Intervention and the Checkpoint Shift: Profiling Hispanic Motorists Under the §287(g) Program". In this study, the authors explore whether the DOJ investigation into civil rights violations by Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, an early adopter of the §287(g) program, influenced the policing behavior of other §287(g) participating agencies in North Carolina (NC). Using NC traffic stop data, the authors focus on the proportion of stopped Hispanic motorists and the basis of each traffic stop before and after the DOJ launched its investigation.
For questions, please contact Dr. Joaquin Rubalcaba at jrubalca@email.unc.edu.
Researchers
Alberto Ortega
Dr. Alberto Ortega is an Assistant Professor in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. He is a member of the Policing Enforcement and Justice working group at the Cook Center.
Joaqin Rubacalba
Faculty Affiliate; Policing Enforcement and Justice
Assistant Professor, UNC Chapel Hill
Participation in DITE: Cohort 11/12 Fellow
As an assistant professor in the Department of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, Joaquín Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba’s research examines the intersection of health, labor, and education economics and contemporary policy issues that generate disparities along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender, immigration status, and class. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of New Mexico as a RWJF doctoral fellow and is affiliated with the Native American Budget and Policy Institute. Dr. Rubalcaba is also a faculty fellow at the Carolina Population Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he explores the effects of public policy on the overall socioeconomic well-being of immigrant communities, including issues like labor dynamics in mixed-status households, local policing practices targeting migrant communities, and health outcomes.
Prentiss Dantzler
Dr. Prentiss Dantzler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto – St. George. He is a member of the “Policing, Enforcement and Justice” working group at the Cook Center.