Unequal Treatment of Minority Youths in the Justice System
Source: "And Justice For Some"
Arrest
Referral to Juvenile Court
- In 1998, the majority of arrests of juveniles involved White youth.
- In1998, African American youth were overrepresented as a proportion of arrests in 26 of 29 offense categories documented by the FBI.
Detention
- In 1997, the majority of cases referred to juvenile court involved White youth. Minority youth were overrepresented in the referral cohort.
Formal Processing
- While White youth comprised 66% of the juvenile court referral population they comprised 53% of the detained population. In contrast, African American youths made up 31% of the referral population and 44% of the detained population. Youth of other races represented about the same proportion of the referred and detained groups.
- In every offense category–person, property, drug, public order–a substantially greater percentage of African American youth were detained than White youth.
Waiver to Adult Court
- African American youth are more likely than White youth to be formally charged in juvenile court, even when referred for the same type of offense.
- Although just over half of drug cases involving White youth and youth of other races result in formal processing, three-quarters of drug cases involving African American youth result in formal processing.
- Minority youth were overrepresented in the detained population in 43 of 44 states.
Disposition
- An estimated 8,400 petitioned delinquency cases were waived from juvenile to adult court in 1997.
- Minority youth were much more likely to be waived to adult criminal court than White youth. This was true in all offense categories.
- For offenses against persons, White youth were 57% of cases petitioned but only 45% of cases waived to adult court. African American youth charged with similar offenses were 40% of cases petitioned but rose to 50% of cases waived to adult court. Similarly, in drug cases, White youth were 59% of cases petitioned but only 35% of cases waived to adult court. African American youth charged with drug offenses were 39% of cases petitioned but rose to 63% of the cases waived to adult court. Thus, among drug offense cases referred to juvenile court, White youth enjoy a 24% "waiver advantage," while African American youth carry a 24% "waiver disadvantage."
Incarceration in Juvenile Facilities
- African American youth were overrepresented among cases receiving a disposition of out-of-home placement (e.g., commitment to a locked institution). This was true in all offense categories and was most pronounced among drug offense cases.
- In every offense category, minority youth were more likely than White youth to be placed out-of-home.
- Conversely, among all offense categories, White youth were more likely than minority youth to be placed on probation.
Incarceration in Adult Prisons
- Although minority youth are one-third of the adolescent population in the United States, minority youth are two-thirds of the over 100,000 youth confined in local detention and state correctional systems.
- Minority youth are overrepresented in residential placement facilities for all offense categories. In fact, minority youth were at least one-half of all youth in residential placement among each of the non-status offense categories.
- Minorities comprise the majority of youth held in both public and private facilities. Minority youth, especially Latino youth, are a much larger proportion of youth in public than private facilities.
- Minority youth were confined behind locked doors twice as often as White youth. African American youth represent the largest racial/ethnic proportion of youth held behind locked doors.
- In 1993, when controlling for current offense and prior admissions, incarceration rates to state public facilities were higher for African American and Latino youth than White youth.
- When White youth and minority youth were charged with the same offenses, African American youth with no prior admissions were six times more likely to be incarcerated in public facilities than White youth with the same background. Latino youth were three times more likely than White youth to be incarcerated.
- Admission rates to public facilities were seven times greater among African American youth with one-to-two prior admissions than for White youth in 1993. Admission rates for Latino youth were twice the rate of White youth.
- In 1993, African American youth were confined on average for 61 days more than White youth, and Latino youth were confined 112 days more than White youth.
- While representing just 34% of the U.S. population in 1997, minority youth represented 62% of youth in detention, 67% of youth committed to public facilities, and 55% of youth committed to private facilities.
- Nationwide, minority youth were overrepresented in the detained population at 1.8 times their rate in the general population, among commitments to public facilities at 2.0 times their rate, and among private commitments at 1.6 times their rate in the population.
- Nationally, custody rates were five times greater for African American youth than for White youth. Custody rates for Latino and Native American youth were 2.5 times the custody rate of White youth.
- In 1997, 7,400 new admissions to adult prisons involved youth under the age of 18. Three out of four of these youths were minorities.
- Overrepresentation of minority youth and underrepresentation of White youth were reported by nearly every state reporting juvenile admissions to adult prisons in 1996.
- The proportion of juvenile prison admissions involving a drug offense was three times greater among African American youth than White youth in 1997.