A recent article from Pew Research reported that the gap between White and Black prisoners has narrowed.Overall, the prison population in the United States has decreased, but the number of Black inmates has increased more precipitously.

Even so, Black and Hispanic individuals are disproportionally overrepresented in the prison population with respect to their representation in the population.Here is an excerpt from the Pew report:

The racial and ethnic makeup of U.S. prisons continues to look substantially different from the demographics of thecountry as a whole. In 2017, blacks represented 12% of the U.S. adult population but 33% of the sentenced prison population. Whites accounted for 64% of adults but 30% of prisoners. And while Hispanics represented 16% of the adult population, they accounted for 23% of inmates.

For decades, many advocacy groups have argued that these numbers are proof of systemic racism within the criminal justice system.They argue that Black and Hispanic offenders are, by virtue of their race/ethnicity alone, more likely to be incarcerated than White offenders.It is a debate that will likely rage for the foreseeable future.

Given what you know about the intricacies of the criminal justice process and the rules of causality, identify at least four factors, other than race/ethnicity, that might explain why Black and Hispanic individuals appear more likely to be incarcerated.