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Charlottesville To Continue Study Of Intersection Of Race And Criminal Justice

The city of Charlottesville has gotten a second round of state funding to continue its study of race in the criminal justice system.

It’s known as DMC-- disproportionate minority contact-- jargon for the rate at which black people come into contact with the criminal justice system as compared to white people. About 19 percent of Charlottesville’s population is black, and so, proportionally, about 19 percent of all people arrested or in jail should be black. But historically, that percentage has been much higher. The question is why?
 

Kaki Dimock is the director of Charlottesville’s Human Services and oversees the study.

"I think it’ll be really critical for us once we get to a phase, which is the more interesting phase for me, which is around problem solving," Dimock said.  "If we identify some problem areas, how do we fix those? How do we address them? And how do we do that in a way that’s responsible for local dollars and also responsible for local individuals."

The study follows a separate three-year study on juvenile DMC. Last year, using state and local funds, the city began the tedious process of collecting the many layers of adult data. Dimock expects it to take up to three years. A second grant from the state this year provides the study with $90,000 if the city agrees to match it with $10,000, a decision it's expected to make later this month.

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