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Minority youth face tougher treatment in justice system

April 25, 2000
Web posted at: 2:51 p.m. EDT (1851 GMT)

In this story: Minority youth at a 'cumulative disadvantage' Complicated problem RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- African-American youths face tougher treatment throughout the juvenile justice system, according to a report released Tuesday by a children's advocacy group.

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The report found that in 1998, 71 percent of juvenile arrests involved white youth, 26 percent of the arrests involved black youth. However, of the age group of 10- to 17-year-olds, African-Americans make up just 15 percent of the group.

Once they are in custody, black youth are more likely than whites to be formally charged and jailed, and far more likely to have their cases referred to adult courts. The study found this difference was present, even when black and white youth are charged with the same crime.

White youth were more likely than black youth to be sentenced to probation.

The study's authors say the data suggests the justice system is not "racially neutral" and states have not done enough to address racial disparities. They say recent trends to "get tough" on juvenile offenders makes dealing with the problem more important.

"As the blurring of the line between juvenile and criminal court increases, so does the likelihood that these trends will disproportionately affect minority youth," the report says.

The study found that when white and African-American youth are charged with the same offense, black students are five times more likely to be detained. Custody rates for Latino and Native American youth are 2.5 times higher than those of white youth.

Minority youth are also more likely to be tried in adult courts and incarcerated in adult prisons. In 1997, 7,400 youth under the age of 18 were sent to adult prison. Three out of four were minorities, the study says.

The report, was conducted by Building Blocks for Youth, an alliance of child advocacy groups promoting fairer juvenile justice policies. Its authors studied state and federal data on arrests, juvenile court actions, detention and other factors.

Some people have argued that a disproportionate number of minorities are in the justice system because minority youth commit more crimes than white youth. The authors of the study say the problem is "much more complicated." They say police policies, such as targeting patrols in certain low-income areas and group arrest procedures could impact minority and white youth differently.

The report suggests broader social issues could be factors. It says crime victims may be more likely to think that offenses were committed by minority youth than white youth. The study also said policies requiring youth to be released to biological parents could put offenders who live in single-parent homes, or are in foster care at a disadvantage.

The authors of the report called for a "nationwide effort to identify the causes of this differential treatment of minority youth."

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Full text of report
Building Blocks for Youths
Tackling Youth Crime
National Crime Prevention Council's Online Resource Center
ACLU: Taking On The Youth Crime Initiative

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