Race and Ethnicity
Justice Counts follows federal guidance on reporting race and ethnicity, treating them as distinct traits (i.e., a person has both a race and an ethnicity, and one does not necessarily dictate the other). For more information on how the federal government, including the U.S. Census Bureau, categorizes race and ethnicity, see Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, U.S. Census Bureau Guidance on the Presentation and Comparison of Race and Hispanic Origin Data, and About the Hispanic Population and its Origin.
The categories and descriptions below are based on race and ethnicity definitions in U.S. Census Bureau - About the Topic of Race.
Race Categories
- American Indian or Alaska Native: People whose race is listed as Native American, American Indian, Native Alaskan, or similar. This includes people with origins in the original populations or Tribal groups of North, Central, or South America.
- Asian: People whose race is listed as Asian. This includes people with origins in China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, as well as India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and other countries in East and South Asia.
- Black: People whose race is listed as Black or African-American. This includes people with origins in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, or other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: People whose race is listed as Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, or similar. This includes people with origins in the original populations of Pacific islands such as Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, or Papua New Guinea.
- White: People whose race is listed as White, Caucasian, or Anglo. This includes people with origins in France, Italy, or other countries in Europe, as well as Israel, Palestine, Egypt, or other countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
- More than one race: People whose race is listed as more than one race, such as White and Black.
- Other race: People whose race is listed as some other race, not included above.
- Unknown race: People whose race is not known.
Ethnicity Categories
- Hispanic or Latino: People whose ethnicity is listed as Hispanic or Latino. This includes people with origins in Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other Spanish-speaking countries in Central or South America, as well as people with origins in Brazil or other non-Spanish-speaking countries in Central or South America.
- Not Hispanic or Latino: People whose ethnicity is not listed as Hispanic or Latino.
- Unknown ethnicity: People whose ethnicity is not known.
For the Justice Counts metrics that are disaggregated by race and ethnicity, the data shared should be categorized by the distinct combination of race and ethnicity as seen in the table below. It is possible that a single metric could have up to 24 unique racial and ethnic combinations. But, during onboarding, agencies will specify which of the combinations of race and ethnicity are available to be shared from their data systems.
Racial and Ethnic Combinations
| Hispanic or Latino | Not Hispanic or Latino | Unknown Ethnicity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | A | I | Q |
| Asian | B | J | R |
| Black | C | K | S |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | D | L | T |
| White | E | M | U |
| More than one race | F | N | V |
| Other race | G | O | W |
| Unknown race | H | P | X |
One common challenge agencies may have in sharing race and ethnicity metrics is when their record management system does not record race and ethnicity as separate variables, and therefore the combinations of race and ethnicity detailed above are not possible to share. If your agency does not record ethnicity separately from race and treats “Hispanic or Latino” as a race category, count anyone whose race is listed as Hispanic or Latino in the Unknown race – Hispanic or Latino category (cell H). Count people of all other races as Not Hispanic or Latino and in their appropriate race category (cells I through P).
If your agency does not track whether a person is of Hispanic or Latino origin, either as a race category or as an ethnicity, count everyone as Unknown ethnicity and in their appropriate race category (cells Q through X).
Justice Counts recognizes that there is significant variation across agencies for how, when, and by whom those data are collected and recorded. Therefore, in addition to configuring race and ethnicity definitions, agencies should also share information regarding the method of data collection for race and ethnicity.
Each agency can indicate the origin of race and ethnicity data for the agency:
| Yes/No | Data are collected and recorded by a law enforcement agency and are applied unchanged by the agency |
| Yes/No | Data are collected and recorded by a law enforcement agency and are amended upon receipt by the agency |
| Yes/No | Data are collected and recorded by the agency at intake |
| Yes/No | Data are collected and recorded by a criminal justice agency other than a law enforcement agency and are applied unchanged by the agency |
| Yes/No | Data are collected and recorded by a criminal justice agency other than a law enforcement agency and are amended upon receipt by the agency |
Each agency can indicate the method of data collection for race and ethnicity data for the agency:
| Yes/No | People self-report their race and ethnicity |
| Yes/No | Agency staff make determinations about race and ethnicity |
| Yes/No | It is not known how race and ethnicity data is collected |