Written Assignment #7 CRJ 571

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Saint Leo University *

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Sociology

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Apr 3, 2024

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Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System 1 Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System Kellye Diaz Saint Leo University CRJ-571: Cause and Control Juvenile Delinquency Professor Butch Newkirk

Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System 2 Abstract There are racial disparities present throughout all stages of the juvenile justice system and it has been this way for many years. There have been mandates put into place to address the racial and ethnic disparities however, in some cases it has had the opposite effect. There are factors both in and out of the system that contribute to disproportionate minority contact (DMC). DMC can occur because of legal factors like the severity and amount of criminal offending, as well as other factors like race, socioeconomic status, neighborhood quality, and age at the time of arrest. There is however training available to help reduce the amount of DMC that is present in the juvenile justice system. This paper is going to address some of the issues that cause DMC as well as what training is available to reduce the amount of DMC in the system. Keywords: juvenile delinquency, law enforcement, juvenile justice system, DMC

Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System 3 Introduction There have been racial and ethnic disparities present in all stages of the juvenile justice system for many years. The existence of these disparities is a complicated social problem in the United States. In 1988, the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection Act mandated that states have to address minority overrepresentation in order to receive federal funding, but unfortunately there has been limited success from this mandate. In some states, this mandate had the opposite effect and more minority youth were being referred to the juvenile justice system (Padgaonkar et al., 2020). The disparities in the juvenile justice system is known as Dispropor- tionate minority contact (DMC). Before 2002 DMC was known as disproportionate minority confinement but confinement was changed to contact since it refers to all stages of the juvenile system such as arrest, diversion, probation and is not just specific to confinement (Disproportion- ate Minority Contact (DMC), 2014). DMC in the juvenile justice system is caused by a number of different factors. DMC can occur because of legal factors like the severity and amount of criminal offending, as well as other factors like race, socioeconomic status, neighborhood qual- ity, and age at the time of arrest (Padgaonkar et al., 2020). Factors that Contribute to DMC in the Juvenile Justice System There are many factors outside of the juvenile justice system itself that contribute to high levels of DMC. A juveniles socioeconomic status is one of the factors that can contribute to high levels of DMC in the juvenile justice system. Socioeconomic factors include income, education, and social status or class. Although there are juvenile court systems that are located in suburban, middle-class, or wealthier jurisdictions, the juvenile court system has for a very long time been thought of as the court system for the poverty stricken. Roughly around 60% of youth in the ju- venile justice system come from families that are either on public assistance or have an annual

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Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System 4 income of less than twenty thousand dollars per year and around 20% come from families with an income of less than thirty thousand dollars per year. Officials from the juvenile court system have said that they frequently direct low-income youth into the juvenile justice system as a way to facilitate the services, accountability, and discipline that these juveniles need. The purpose of directing them to the system in order to receive these services was to try and help them to be- come productive adults one day. Studies have shown that minority children are more than twice as likely to come from poverty stricken families than their white counterparts (Birckhead, 2012). Quality education is also a factor that can contribute to high levels of DMC in the juve- nile justice system. Children that come from poverty stricken families and reside in low income neighborhoods are more likely to attend low quality schools. This can cause them to perform poorly on standardized tests and to complete fewer years of formalized schooling. These children are less likely to have parents that will advocate for their education and will likely not have the supervision or support they need in after school hours. Administrators in these low quality schools also are not able to identify the specific needs these children need in regards to special education. They will often inflict punishments for behaviors that are a part of their disability rather than helping to develop an education plan to help manage these behaviors so that the child can learn more effectively. These children are more likely to attend public schools that will also criminalize behaviors that are addressed in house at private schools. Since most if not all public school have enacted a “zero tolerance” policy, behaviors that had previously warranted a visit to the principals office are now ending up in the juvenile court system (Birckhead, 2012). Reducing DMC in the Juvenile Justice System There are several strategies that can be used by law enforcement or probation officers to help in reducing DMC in the juvenile justice system. Training and technical assistance for law

Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System 5 enforcement can address the factors that contribute to high levels of DMC. Some examples of training that can be used by law enforcement helps to address unintentional racial bias, improve interactions between youth and law enforcement, and address cultural competency to teach law enforcement to respect the values, attitudes, and beliefs that differ across the cultures of youth that they interact with. According to the OJJDP’s DMC Technical Assistance Manual, before at- tempting to reduce DMC it is important to identify the contributing mechanisms through a DMC assessment study, and then organize events to help to prepare local stakeholders in the steps needed to reduce DMC (Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC), 2014). Cultural competency training can help to increase officers awareness of the problems that are created by DMC before they interact with juveniles in the communities that they work in. It can also help to divert minority juveniles who would otherwise be referred to the juvenile justice system. In Cook County, Illinois training was created to help recognize how racial stereotyping and decision-making bias can lead to disparities in the system. This training is still being used by the police department, the judiciary, the public defender's office, the detention center, the state attorney's office, and juvenile probation in Cook County. Sacramento County uses a 2 day cross- agency cultural diversity training to develop a better understanding of issues that contribute to racial disparities in juvenile justice processing and to help promote information sharing across different departments. This training was provided to members from the juvenile courts, the pro- bation department, the public defender's office, the sheriff's department, and the district attor- ney's office. The participants were surveyed after the training and the survey showed that around 90% of them believed that the diversity training had increased their awareness of intercultural communication issues (Cabaniss et al., 2007).

Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System 6 The State of Missouri offers law enforcement a POST certified training program called Effective Police Interactions with Youth. This training helps law enforcement better understand youth behavior and provides them with effective methods to help them to have positive interac- tions with juveniles. The purpose of this training is to help reduce the likelihood that interactions between police officers and juveniles will have a negative outcome or result, especially for mi- nority youth. The trainers for this program teach law enforcement personnel about DMC and ju- venile development through a variety of different training strategies. These strategies include videos for the participants to watch, class discussions, small group activities, and role playing. The training helps law enforcement to understand why juveniles will test boundaries, challenge authority, and have difficulty controlling impulses and making sound decisions. It also teaches law enforcement personnel the role they can play in helping to reduce or eliminate DMC in Mis- souri’s juvenile justice system (Effective Police Interaction With Youth Training – Missouri Ju- venile Justice Association, 2023). Saint Leo Core Value of Respect Racial and ethnic discrimination happens throughout all stages of the juvenile justice system. Although Latino and Native American youth face discrimination in the juvenile justice system, black youth face the most discrimination. Black juveniles account for about 34% of arrests and 35% of delinquency cases handled in the juvenile court system. Compared to other races, black youth are more likely to be formally processed in the court system. Black youth also account for about 40% of the juveniles in detention and about 52% of youth that are referred to adult court (Agnew & Brezina, 2022, p. 449). The Saint Leo Core Value of Respect states that each person talents and dignity deserve to be respected. It also says that the strength of a community depends on the unity and diversity of our people (Saint Leo University Core Values,

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Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System 7 n.d.). Unfortunately, this is something that many minority youth do not experience when they become involved in the juvenile justice system, instead they face discrimination based on the color of the skin or their cultural background. Conclusion Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in the juvenile justice system is caused by a number of different factors that include legal factors like the severity and amount of criminal of- fending, as well as other factors like race, socioeconomic status, neighborhood quality, and age at the time of arrest. Outside of the system, DMC can be caused by poverty as well as access to quality schooling. Minority youth are more likely to come from poverty stricken families and live in low income neighborhoods that have low quality schools. Attending low quality schools affects the education these youth receive as well as makes it more likely that they will become involved in the juvenile justice system. Law enforcement personnel as well as other members of the juvenile justice system can help to reduce the amount of DMC that the system experiences. This can be done through training programs like the cultural competency training. This training helps to increase awareness of the problems that are created by DMC before interacting with ju- veniles out in the community as well as help to divert minority juveniles who would otherwise be referred to the juvenile justice system. Increasing awareness of the problems that can lead to DMC can help to reduce the amount of DMC throughout the juvenile justice system. References Agnew, R., & Brezina, T. (2017). Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Control. Oxford University Press, USA

Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System 8 Birckhead, T. R. (2012). Delinquent by reason of poverty. Washington University Journal of Law and Policy , 38 (1), 53–107. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=1015&context=law_journal_law_policy Cabaniss, E. R., Frabutt, J. M., Kendrick, M. H., & Arbuckle, M. B. (2007). Reducing disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system: Promising practices. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 12 (4), 393–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2006.09.004 Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) . (2014, November). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved March 2, 2024, from https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/mpg/literature-review/disproportionate-minority-contact.pdf Effective police interaction with youth training – Missouri Juvenile Justice Association . (2023, October 5). Missouri Juvenile Justice Association. https://mjja.org/training/training- education/effective-police-interaction-with-youth-training/ Mission, values, and identity | Saint Leo University . (n.d.-b). https://www.saintleo.edu/about/mission-values Padgaonkar, N. T., Baker, A., Dapretto, M., Gálvan, A., Frick, P. J., Steinberg, L., & Cauffman, E. (2020). Exploring disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system over the year following first arrest. Journal of Research on Adolescence , 31 (2), 317– 334. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12599 Saint Leo University Core Values . (n.d.). https://saintleo.edu/saint-leo-university-core-values

Written Assignment #7 CRJ 571

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