Racial Disparities in Pretrial Outcomes Linked to Relative Disadvantage in Indiana Jails

A 2026 study by Evan M. Lowder links survey and administrative data from 714 individuals admitted to three jails in Indiana. The dataset likely contains responses from the Relative Disadvantage Tool (RDT) linked to pretrial outcomes like bond payment and release. Findings suggest relative disadvantage mediates the association between race and release from detention.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between self-reported disadvantage and pretrial release based on the linked survey and administrative records.
• Investigating potential mediating effects of relative disadvantage on racial disparities in early pretrial outcomes.
• Modeling predictors of financial bond payment likelihood using demographic and disadvantage covariates.

Strengths

• Includes 714 individual survey responses linked to administrative records.
• Focuses on a specific and understudied mechanism (relative disadvantage) in pretrial disparities.
• Data is shared under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, requiring manual inspection after download.
• The dataset's scope is limited to three jails in a single U.S. state (Indiana).
• The primary data file is a DOCX document (287.4 KB), which may not be in a standard analysis-ready format.

Provenance

Source

Evan M. Lowder via figshare.

Collection Method

Survey responses (Relative Disadvantage Tool) collected from individuals admitted to jail and linked to administrative records.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-20 16:47:52.

Geography

Three jails in Indiana, USA.