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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
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Results for disproportionate minority contact
31 results foundAuthor: Leonardson, Gary R. Title: Assessment of Disproportionate Minority Contact in South Dakota Summary: Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) has been documented in research over the past three decades. In many studies, racial disparities have been found within various stages of the juvenile justice system. The results of the most recent research differ from the previous DMC reviews in that a greater proportion of the recent studies showed inconclusive results. Research that is more recent has used multiple factors with more sophisticated research and statistical techniques, while earlier studies mainly focused on ethnicity. Factors, besides the differential handling of minority youth, which have been found to be related to confinement or other decisions in the juvenile justice system are: gender, geography, age, prior criminal history, family factors, peers, experiences in school, differential offending of minority youth, differential opportunities for prevention and treatment, substance abuse, and related factors. An effective and comprehensive DMC assessment must consider multiple factors and use varied research methods. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the current analyses of DMC in South Dakota. Focus group methodology was the qualitative procedure employed, and various univariate and multivariate statistical procedures were used for the quantitative analyses of the available data. Quantitative Findings -- · Native Americans are more likely to be arrested. · Native Americans are more likely to be detained after arrested. · No difference by race was found in adjudicated/not adjudicated. · Native Americans are more likely to be adjudicated to DOC. · No difference by race was found in detention time for those adjudicated. · No difference by race was found in incarceration time for those adjudicated. · No difference by race was found in probation time for those adjudicated. · No difference by race was found in community service time for those adjudicated. · No difference by race was found in fine amount for those adjudicated. · No difference by race was found in restitution amount for those adjudicated. · No difference by race was found in driver’s license suspension time for those adjudicated. · No difference by race was found in placement in secure or non-secure facilities after commitment to DOC. · No difference by race was found in out-of-state placements of DOC clients in secure facilities. · No difference by race was found in any out-of-state placements of DOC clients. · No difference by race was found in secure placements of DOC clients after revocation. Qualitative Findings -- Focus groups are effective because they tap into common human interactions and tendencies. Attitudes and perceptions about common or complex concepts are developed in part by interactions with other people. In order to gain understanding of attitudes and perceptions, focus group methodology has been employed by many researchers. This methodology is a popular qualitative assessment technique that provides information that is difficult to assess through analysis of data sets or formal questionnaires, and it has been used to assess reasons for DMC. Focus groups were conducted at four locations across the state with 92 participants in 12 groups. One-half of the 12 focus groups were with youth in the juvenile justice system (e.g., probation, DOC commitments, etc.). Three focus groups were conducted with criminal justice practitioners such as judges, police department and sheriff’s office personnel, Court Service Officers (CSO) and Juvenile Corrections Agents (JCA). Additionally, three groups of parents who have adolescents in the system and providers of youth services were part of the focus group procedure. While most people tended to view multiple reasons for DMC (e.g., economics, racial and ethnic biases, family structure, gangs, substance abuse, loss of identity, etc.), some held that racial prejudice by practitioners (i.e., law enforcement, judges, etc.) was the prime reason. Others felt that the social system in general was biased, limiting the opportunities for minorities in the areas of employment, education, economic development and related areas. However, minority youth in the focus groups appeared to see less racial/ethnic bias in the juvenile justice system than did participants in the parent/provider groups. The reasons given for DMC in South Dakota include: · Prejudice or biased treatment of minorities. · Close scrutiny of law enforcement and store owners/staff of minority adolescents. · Differences in laws, mores, and cultural values between reservation and non-reservation areas. · Cultural differences concerning the importance of formal education between whites and other groups. · Greater numbers of single parent families, resulting in lack of structure in minority families. · Truancy and dropout rates are believed to be higher in minorities. · Substance abuse is viewed as higher among minority adolescents. · Excessive gang membership by minority juveniles. · Poverty and unemployment was thought to be higher in minority groups. Solutions to DMC and/or Delinquency in General: · Cultural sensitivity/diversity training for persons in the juvenile justice system. · Hire more minority staff members throughout the juvenile justice system. · Mentoring programs which match responsible adults with adolescents in need. · Tribal truancy courts. · Better communication between leaders of reservation communities and nearby or magnate non-reservations communities. · Teach traditional Native American culture to urban Indians. · Teach parenting skills, including making parents responsible for the actions of their children. · More and better services in the areas of advocacy, counseling, parenting, education, intervention, treatment, and related areas. · Use the strengths of Native American and other minority cultures in dealing with problems of delinquency. Intervention Programs found to be Helpful in Ameliorating DMC or Delinquency in General · Mentoring programs · Dropout prevention programs · Home visitation programs · After school recreation programs · Gang resistance training programs Details: Dillon, MT: Mountain Plains Research and Evaluation, 2005. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2011 at: http://doc.sd.gov/about/grants/documents/FullDMCReportFinal.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://doc.sd.gov/about/grants/documents/FullDMCReportFinal.pdf Shelf Number: 121200 Keywords: Discrimination in Juvenile Justice AdministrationDisproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile CorrectionsJuvenile Justice Systems (South Dakota)Minorities |
Author: College of Business. Office of Business and Economic Research Title: Assessment of Disproportionate Minority Confinement in Tennessee’s Juvenile Justice System Summary: A new report, funded and commissioned by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, was the first systematic examination of the problem of minority over-representation in Tennessee juvenile courts. Although the report did not identify any “smoking guns,” it did recommend changes. The report identified risk factors associated with confinement and listed recommendations to address systemic problems. The purpose of the report was to investigate the nature, extent, and causes of disproportionate minority confinement in Tennessee’s Juvenile Justice System. Seven counties, Davidson, Shelby, Knox, Hamilton, Madison, Blount, and Washington, were selected for study. Tennessee’s major urban counties had been previously identified as having significant DMC problems. Blount and Washington counties had not and were selected, in part, as control comparisons. The qualitative portion of the research relied upon case studies, interviews, and focus groups in the selected counties. These case studies and the individual file reviews allowed for deeper and a more long-term examination of individual cases, some of which went back more than 10 years with 10 or more appearances before the Juvenile Court. The quantitative research provided the snapshot of what happened in the year 2000. Details: Nashville, TN: Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, 2003. 368p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2011 at: http://www.tennessee.gov/tccy/dmcrep.shtml Year: 2003 Country: United States URL: http://www.tennessee.gov/tccy/dmcrep.shtml Shelf Number: 121201 Keywords: Discrimination in the Juvenile Justice SystemDisproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Justice Systems (Tennessee)Juvenile OffendersMinorities |
Author: Hartney, Christopher Title: Created Equal: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the US Criminal Justice System Summary: African Americans make up 13% of the general US population, yet they constitute 28% of all arrests, 40% of all inmates held in prisons and jails, and 42% of the population on death row. In contrast, Whites make up 67% of the total US population and 70% of all arrests, yet only 40% of all inmates held in state prisons or local jails and 56% of the population on death row. Hispanics and Native Americans are also alarmingly overrepresented in the criminal justice system. This overrepresentation of people of color in the nation’s criminal justice system, also referred to as disproportionate minority contact (DMC), is a serious issue in our society. DMC has been the subject of concern in the juvenile justice system since 1988, when a federal mandate required states to address the issue for system-involved youth. This mandate led to an increase in the information on racial disparities in the juvenile system and efforts to reduce these numbers. However, no such efforts have been made in the adult system. This report documents DMC in the adult criminal justice system by tabulating the most reliable data available. It does not seek to thoroughly describe the causes of DMC nor does it perform an advanced statistical analysis of how various factors impact disparity. Disproportionate representation most likely stems from a combination of many different circumstances and decisions. It is difficult to ascertain definitive causes; the nature of offenses, differential policing policies and practices, sentencing laws, or racial bias are just some of the possible contributors to disparities in the system. Some studies have begun to explore these issues and are so cited, but the purpose of this report is to describe the nature and extent of the problem. DMC is problematic not only because persons of color are incarcerated in greater numbers, but because they face harsher penalties for given crimes and that the discrepancies accumulate through the stages of the system. This report presents the data on DMC in arrests, court processing and sentencing, new admissions and ongoing populations in prison and jails, probation and parole, capital punishment, and recidivism. At each of these stages, persons of color, particularly African Americans, are more likely to receive less favorable results than their White counterparts. The data reveal that, overall, Hispanics are also overrepresented, though to a lesser extent than African Americans, and that Asian Pacific Islanders as a whole are generally underrepresented. Correcting DMC in the adult system will require improvements in state and federal data collection. In contrast to juvenile DMC data, much of which can be found from a single source and can often be compared across the stages of the juvenile system, data for the adult system are only available through several independent federal and state data collection programs. Each dataset uses different sampling methods, in effect, obscuring how DMC accumulates in the system. All data in this report reflect national figures; when possible, data by state are also presented. All data reported are categorized by race and, when possible, by ethnicity. The latest available data are usually from 2003 to 2006. Most data are reported as a Relative Rate Index, a ratio of the rates at which people of color and Whites are represented in the system relative to their representation in the general population. Failing to separate ethnicity from race hides the true disparity among races, as Hispanics — a growing proportion of the system’s population—are often combined with Whites, which has the effect of inflating White rates and deflating African American rates in comparison. Asian American system populations, while small in comparison to the other groups, also need to be disaggregated. Disaggregation of “Asian,” for instance, allows researchers to assess subgroups such as Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, etc., some of which may have disproportion even when the overall group does not. Despite the shortcomings of the data, this report shows clearly that people of color are overrepresented throughout the adult system and that the system often responds more harshly to people of color than to Whites for similar offenses. Details: Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 2009. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 5, 2011 at: http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pdf/CreatedEqualReport2009.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pdf/CreatedEqualReport2009.pdf Shelf Number: 113857 Keywords: African AmericansCriminal Justice Systems (U.S.)Disproportionate Minority ContactMinority GroupsRacial Disparities |
Author: Walby, Sylvia Title: Physical and Legal Security and the Criminal Justice System: A Review of Inequalities Summary: The focus of this report is physical and legal security in relation to the Criminal Justice System. The main areas of physical security include: homicide; other violence against the person, including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual violence and hate crime; and physical security in institutional settings. The main areas of legal security include the extent to which offences are brought to justice and equal treatment in and by the Criminal Justice System. Emphasis is placed on evidence and the analysis of objective outcomes as opposed to subjective attitudes and perceptions, primarily because of the robustness of the former in comparison to the latter, but also because the selection of outcomes corresponds to the prioritization recommended by the Equalities Review (2007). The report addresses all the protected equality strands, as well as other disproportionately affected groups wherever there is available and relevant evidence. Due to the current unevenness in data collection and availability across the strands, the majority of evidence presented relates to gender, disability and race/ethnicity. Data on other equalities groups is drawn upon where available (often from small scale studies rather than surveys). The report addresses data and research primarily at the level of Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), reflecting the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s geographical remit. The report reviews the evidence of the extent to which there are inequalities in physical and legal security. The sources used include large surveys (e.g. the British Crime Survey) and administrative data (e.g. police recorded crime), as well as evidence from smaller scale research projects, including those carried out by academia, civil society organisations and governmental commissions and agencies. Details: United Kingdom: Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2010. 172p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 26, 2012 at http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/triennial_review/triennial_review_cjs_review.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/triennial_review/triennial_review_cjs_review.pdf Shelf Number: 123774 Keywords: Bias CrimeConviction RatesDisproportionate Minority ContactDomestic ViolenceHate CrimeHomicideRace/EthnicityViolence Against Women |
Author: Berry-James, RaJade M. Title: Summit County Juvenile Court: Disproportionate minority contact assessment report Summary: This DMC assessment report was prepared on behalf of Summit County Juvenile Court for the purpose of examining the extent to which disproportionate minority contact (DMC) exists in the juvenile justice system Summit County, Ohio. Details: Ohio Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 31, 2012 at Year: 0 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 123883 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactEvaluative StudiesJuvenile Offenders |
Author: Scussel, David E. Title: Analysis of the Impact of Juvenile Justice Programming in Nine New Mexico Counties Summary: The purpose of this particular research task is to analyze the impact of juvenile justice programming in the nine selected New Mexico counties have on the juvenile justice system, and to study and report on how these programs contribute to the understanding of law enforcement and juvenile justice system factors, which perpetuate Disproportionate Minority Contact in New Mexico. Sites Targeted for Interviews were: Day Reporting Center (Colfax, Lea, Sandoval, Santa Fe & Taos); DMC Reduction (Dona Ana, Santa Fe & Taos); Girls Circle (Chaves & Taos); Intensive Community Monitoring (Rio Arriba, Santa Fe & Taos); Reception and Assessment Centers (Bernalillo, Dona Ana, Sandoval & Santa Fe); and Restorative Justice Panel (Chaves, Grant, Sandoval & Santa Fe). Details: Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Sentencing Commission, 2012. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: http://nmsc.unm.edu/nmsc_reports/ Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://nmsc.unm.edu/nmsc_reports/ Shelf Number: 126818 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile DetentionJuvenile Justice (New Mexico)Juvenile OffendersRehabilitation |
Author: Dwayze, Dana Title: On The Level: Disproportionate Minority Contact in Minnesota’s Juvenile Justice System Summary: Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) describes a national phenomenon whereby youth from communities of color have contact with the juvenile justice system at rates different from those of white youth. Over a decade of DMC data collection at the national level support that youth of color are often overrepresented at stages of the justice system focused on accountability and sanctions while underrepresented at stages intended to curtail deeper system involvement or provide community-based services. Minnesota shares in this problem with rates of disparity for youth of color in the justice system which are both higher than national levels and more severe in magnitude than those of many comparable states. An assumption made, often erroneously, is that racial disparities exist because youth of color commit more crime than white youth. While data suggest white youth and youth of color may have different rates of offending for some crimes, the levels of disparity observed are too great to be explained by differences in youth offending patterns alone. Furthermore, once youth of color are in the system, research reveals they receive harsher consequences than white youth with similar offenses and criminal histories. A host of factors potentially contribute to disparate rates of justice system contact for youth of color. These include the inequitable distribution of resources in communities, bias within the policies and practices of juvenile justice agencies, and underlying social conditions of communities, particularly poverty. DMC results from a complex interplay of these factors, rather than a single cause. Therefore, each unique state and jurisdiction must investigate which factors most contribute to disparate outcomes for youth of color and engineer an appropriate local response to reduce racial disparities. Juvenile justice is not the only system in Minnesota in which there are inequities for youth of color. Health and income data show youth of color are more likely to live in poverty, less likely to have health insurance, and are more likely to have serious health problems in adulthood than white youth. Youth of color are overrepresented in the child welfare system, are more likely than white youth to be reported as abused or neglected, and are more likely to be placed in out-of-home care. Furthermore, racial disparities are present in the education system where youth of color have higher rates of school discipline resulting in suspension and expulsion and lower graduation rates than white youth. Each youth serving system must work internally and in collaboration with communities and other youth serving systems to effectively reduce disparate outcomes for youth. Details: St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs, Statistical Analysis Center, 2012. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ojp/forms-documents/Documents/On%20The%20Level_FINAL.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ojp/forms-documents/Documents/On%20The%20Level_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 126830 Keywords: DiscriminationDisproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Justice System (Minnesota)Minority YouthRacial Disparities |
Author: Umemoto, Karen Title: Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Hawaii Juvenile Justice System: 2000-2010 Summary: Disproportionate minority contact in the justice system is an issue of national concern. This report identifies the ethnic groups that have been over-represented in the juvenile justice system in Hawaii over the past decade and describes some of the groups' characteristics; examines the extent to which racial and ethnic disparities exist at different decision points in the sywstem; and presents recommendations for policy and practice. Details: Honolulu: University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, 2012. 140p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 5, 2012 at: http://hawaii.gov/dhs/youth/jjsac/DMC%20FINAL%20REPORT%202012%20(for%20printing).pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://hawaii.gov/dhs/youth/jjsac/DMC%20FINAL%20REPORT%202012%20(for%20printing).pdf Shelf Number: 126878 Keywords: DiscriminationDisproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Justice Systems (Hawaii)Juvenile OffendersRacial Disparities |
Author: South Carolina Department of Public Safety. Office of Justice Programs. Statistical Analysis Center Title: An Overview of Racial Disproportionality in Juvenile Arrests and Offenses in South Carolina Summary: Minority racial populations, specifically Blacks, accounted for the majority of adult inmates (South Carolina Department of Corrections [SCDC], 2012), the majority of community corrections admissions (South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services [SCDPPPS], 2012) and the majority of adult arrests in South Carolina (State Law Enforcement Division [SLED], 2008, 2009). Minority overrepresentation is no less of a problem in the juvenile justice system. Black juveniles represent the majority of the referrals to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice [SCDJJ], 2012) as well as the majority of the juveniles arrested statewide (SLED, 2008, 2009). Unfortunately, efforts to systematically examine the problem of disproportionate minority contact with the criminal justice system in South Carolina have been sparse. One previous effort has provided some worthwhile insights, examining racial disproportionality at specific points in the juvenile justice process: the decision to detain juveniles prior to adjudication, the decision to prosecute juveniles, the decision to commit juveniles for evaluation, and the decision to commit juveniles for long-term incarceration (Motes, 2003). However, a particularly important decision point in the juvenile justice process was not included in that analysis, that of juvenile arrest. The purpose of this report is to provide a descriptive overview concerning the nature and extent of racial disproportionality among juveniles for both the arrest process and reported criminal offenses. This report focused on juvenile arrests and offenses throughout South Carolina during 2008 and 2009. Details: Blythewood, SC: South Carolina Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs, Statistical Analysis Center, 2012. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 10, 2012 at: http://www.jrsa.org/ibrrc/background-status/South_Carolina/SC_RacialArrests.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.jrsa.org/ibrrc/background-status/South_Carolina/SC_RacialArrests.pdf Shelf Number: 127101 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Offenders (South Carolina, U.S.)Racial DisparitiesRacial Disproportionality |
Author: Miller, Nancy B. Title: Right from the Start: The CCC Preliminary Protective Hearing Benchcard - A Tool for Judicial Decision-Making Summary: The Technical Assistance Bulletin explains the history and background of the the Courts Catalyzing Change: Achieving Equity and Fairness in Foster Care Initiative (CCC), which brings together judicial officers and other systems’ experts to set a national agenda for court-based training, research, and reform initiatives to reduce the disproportionate representation of children of color in dependency court systems. Details: Reno, Nevada: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 2010. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 22, 2012 at http://nc.casaforchildren.org/files/public/community/judges/July_2012/Right_from_the_Start.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://nc.casaforchildren.org/files/public/community/judges/July_2012/Right_from_the_Start.pdf Shelf Number: 127259 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile JusticeJuvenile Justice Reform |
Author: Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force Title: The Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force Report Summary: In 2010, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, in collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Justice Policy Institute, and Georgetown University, produced a report titled The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System (“2010 Report”). Researchers found that “Native Hawaiians are overrepresented in every stage in the criminal justice system, and the disproportionality increases as Native Hawaiians go further into the system, also making it harder to leave and stay out of prison.” (“2010 Report, at 17”) The 2010 Report recommended the formation of a governing collaborative, which lead to the passage of Act 170 and the statutory creation of the Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force. The disproportionate representation of Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system has been previously reported upon and presented to the Hawaiʻi state Legislature. In addition to the findings of the 2010 Report, the Task Force acknowledges the studies “Crime and Justice Related to Hawaiians and Part Hawaiians in the State of Hawaii,” (“1981 Study”), and “Criminal Justice and Hawaiians in the 1990’s: Ethnic Differences in Imprisonment Rates in the State of Hawaiʻi,” (“1994 Study”). The 1981 Study, the 1994 Study, and the 2010 Report independently concluded that Native Hawaiians are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Those documents, and several others which discuss Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system, are now available online at: www.oha.org/nativehawaiianjusticetaskforce As a group, the Task Force and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which is attached to the Task Force as its administrator through Act 170, have devoted a significant amount of time and effort in engaging in a dialogue with the community. Through a series of summits held throughout the state during the summer of 2012, the Task Force received testimony regarding the disproportionate representation of Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system directly from one hundred fifty nine individuals, and dozens of others through site visits at State correctional facilities and the receipt of written testimony and research. Following the summits, site visits, and the receipt of testimony, the Task Force undertook a deliberate process to draft the Findings and Recommendations sections of the Report. The production of those sections was also influenced by the perspective of each Task Force member who brought forth from his or her role within the criminal justice system. The headings of the Report are: A. Data regarding Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system; B. The disproportionate representation of Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system; C. Early intervention programs for Native Hawaiians; D. Impact of the State’s contracting with non-state facilities on Native Hawaiians; E. Issues in State-operated correctional facilities and their impact on Native Hawaiians; F. Restorative justice practices and their application to Native Hawaiians; G. Lack of services for Native Hawaiians who come into contact with the criminal justice system; H. Continuing state efforts to ameliorate the overrepresentation of Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system. Details: Honolulu: Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force, 2012. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2013 at: http://www.oha.org/sites/default/files/2012NHJTF_REPORT_FINAL_0.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.oha.org/sites/default/files/2012NHJTF_REPORT_FINAL_0.pdf Shelf Number: 127578 Keywords: Criminal Justice System (Hawaii)Disproportionate Minority ContactRacial Disparities |
Author: Mehlman-Orozco, Kimberly Title: The “Crimmigration” Effect?: An Exploratory Analysis of 287(g) and Latino Juveniles in Residential Placement Summary: This dissertation explores whether Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act [hereinafter "287(g)"], which allows for state officers and employees to serve as deputized immigration officers, has an indirect effect on the percentage of Latino juveniles in residential placement in the juvenile justice system. Prior research and criminological theories posit that one would not expect Latino foreign nationals and Latino citizens, prima facie, to engage in a disproportionate amount of criminal activity (Katz, Fox, & White, 2011; Lee & Martinez, 2009; Lee, Martinez, & Rosenfeld, 2001; Marcelli, 2001; Martinez, Stowell, & Lee, 2010; Nielsen, Lee, & Martinez, 2005; and Stowell, Messner, McGeever, & Raffalovich, 2009). However, in the (Lopez & Light, 2009; Vazsonyi & Chen, 2010). Previous research suggests different explanations for this phenomenon. One proposition—and the focus of this study—is that disproportionate involvement is due to a “crimmigration” effect of policies like 287(g). "Crimmigration" suggests that the enforcement of policies like 287(g), which focus criminal justice resources on illegal immigration issues, could lead to disproportionate Latino involvement in the criminal justice system because it permits high levels of law enforcement discretion toward non-native racial minorities. In explaining this potential effect, this dissertation explores the applicability of LatCrit theory, Marxist theory, conflict theory, and bounded rationality theory. Ultimately, each of these theories provides a framework that can be used to suggest that 287(g) directives may be currently implemented in a way that disproportionately affects Latinos, with an increased number of searches, citations, arrests, and time in detention. To examine this relationship between 287(g) and disproportionate Latino contact with the criminal justice system, this study specifically focuses on juvenile justice. The analysis uses the Census of Juveniles on Residential Placement, the American Community Survey, and the U.S. Census to examine the percentage of juveniles in residential placement in 287(g) jurisdictions as compared to non-287(g) jurisdictions, while holding constant the population density of Latinos and other social and crime-related controls over time. By doing so, this study explores the relationship between those places with and without 287(g) and the levels of Latinos in juvenile residential placement. Perhaps significant differences between these types of jurisdictions could shed light on how policies like 287(g) impact the racial composition of those involved in the criminal justice system. Despite a growing body of research suggesting that 287(g) jurisdictions may be experiencing increases in Latino involvement in the justice system, the findings of this exploratory study did not support this claim. Specifically, 287(g) jurisdictions may experience no effect or a negative effect on the percentage of Latino juveniles in residential placement. These findings should be taken cautiously, however, given the extremely limited nature of the data available to study this issue. Such limitations yield important insights about the type of information that criminal justice systems need to collect in order to adequately examine whether a relationship exists between immigration policy enforcement and criminal justice involvement. Such information is absolutely necessary to better inform this highly contentious policy area, with little research base for claims on both sides of the debate. Details: Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, 2012. 151p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed February 13, 2013 at: http://www.justitiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DissertationPDF1.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.justitiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DissertationPDF1.pdf Shelf Number: 127598 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ConfinementDisproportionate Minority ContactHispanicsImmigration PoliciesJuvenile OffendersLatinos, Juveniles |
Author: Hickert, Audrey O. Title: Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC): Arrest/Referral Assessment Summary: In 1988, 1992, and 2002, Congress amended the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974 to establish and increase requirements that states address disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in their juvenile justice systems (OJJDP, 2009). To help states identify and address their DMC issues the Department of Justice (DOJ) developed a five phase model of “ongoing DMC reduction activities”: 1. Identification 2. Assessment/Diagnosis 3. Intervention 4. Evaluation/Performance Measurement 5. Monitoring As part of the first step, Identification, the Utah Board of Juvenile Justice (UBJJ) DMC Subcommittee has examined the relative rate index (RRI) for Minority youths’ contact with each point of contact in the Utah juvenile justice system from arrest through transfers to adult court (RRI = Minority youth rate of contact/White youth rate of contact). This examination has uncovered a multi-year trend of disproportionately higher arrest and referral to juvenile court for Minority youth. Because of this identified trend, the UBJJ DMC Subcommittee requested that the Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) conduct this assessment of DMC Arrest/Referral in Cache, Weber, Salt Lake, and Utah counties as part of the second step, Assessment/Diagnosis. The purpose of this study is to conduct an assessment of local jurisdictions to identify potential explanations for why disproportionate minority contact (DMC) occurs among juveniles at the point of arrest and referral by law enforcement for follow-up data analyses and to explore possible solutions to address the disparity. This study was comprised of two phases: 1) interviews with local Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to identify potential explanations for why DMC occurs among juveniles at the point of arrest/referral and identify potential data sources to confirm or disprove those hypotheses, 2) collection of de-identified data from each of the LEAs to examine DMC issues/explanations proposed in Phase 1. Details: Salt Lake City: University of Utah, Utah Criminal Justice Center, 2012. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2013 at: http://ucjc.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/DMC-Arrest_FinalReport_v101812.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://ucjc.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/DMC-Arrest_FinalReport_v101812.pdf Shelf Number: 129527 Keywords: DiscriminationDisproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Offenders (Utah, U.S.)Minority Groups |
Author: Hickert, Audrey O. Title: Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Diversion Assessment: Fiscal Year 2009 Juvenile Court Referrals Summary: The Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) has assisted the Utah Board of Juvenile Justice’s (UBJJ) Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Advisory Committee with calculating the DMC Relative Rate Index (RRI) since Fiscal Year (FY) 2003. The RRI has consistently shown DMC at the point of diversion in the juvenile justice system. Minority youth have a lower rate of diversion than White youth after being referred to juvenile court. Because of this ongoing disparity, the UBJJ DMC Advisory Committee asked UCJC to study the factors that may influence the disproportionately lower rate of diversion for minority youth. This assessment seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What are diversion criteria? 2. How many episodes meet diversion criteria? 3. How many of diversion-qualified episodes are diverted by RRI categories? How many of diversion-qualified episodes are not diverted by RRI categories? 4. How do those that are not diverted differ from those that are? a. By delinquency history b. By presenting offense severity & type c. By risk (pending availability of PSRA & PRA on this group) d. Stratified by age 5. What is the failure rate of diverted/not-diverted (but qualified) episodes by RRI categories? a. Failure rate = diverted cases turned to petitioned (pending availability of data) b. Failure rate = any new referral within 12 months of diversion. This assessment was comprised of two main research tasks: 1) the compilation of diversion policy and practices, and 2) the analysis of juvenile court CARE data to examine diversion rates in relation to diversion policies and practices, youth and case factors, and minority status. Details: Salt Lake City: University of Utah, Utah Criminal Justice Center, 2011. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2013 at: http://ucjc.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/DMC_Diversion_082311.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://ucjc.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/DMC_Diversion_082311.pdf Shelf Number: 129528 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile CourtJuvenile DiversionJuvenile Offenders (Utah, U.S.)Minority Groups |
Author: Charish, Courtney Title: Race/Ethnicity and Gender Effects on Juvenile Justice System Processing Summary: Disproportionate minority representation in the juvenile justice system has been a national policy issue since 1992 when Congress amended the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. The amendments required states participating in the Federal Formula Grants Program to determine the existence of disproportionate minority representation, assess the causes, develop and implement corrective interventions, and evaluate those interventions; and to fund programs addressing gender issues. States that failed to make progress or show good faith efforts towards reducing disproportionate minority representation risked losing one-quarter of their formula grant funds and having to expend the remaining proportion towards achieving progress. The authors of this report conducted an analysis of data for the processing of 25,511 juveniles referred to Oklahoma's juvenile justice system between July 1, 1999 and June 30, 2001. Data for the study was obtained, primarily, from the state's information system for juvenile offenders, the Juvenile On-Line Tracking System (JOLTS). The decision points examined by the study included front end decisions (detention at arrest and intake decisions of district attorneys); and back end decisions made by the juvenile court including decisions to transfer juveniles to the adult criminal justice system, and adjudicatory and dispositional decisions. All outcomes for each decision point were analyzed because inequities, if they existed, may be as much a matter of lack of access to less harsh outcomes as a matter of receiving harsher outcomes. Logistic regression analysis was chosen as the method to determine whether race and gender effects existed and were statistically significant, while controlling for other variables including offense history and its severity, age, the population of counties, household welfare status, and residential area poverty rates. Details: Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, 2004. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 7, 2014 at: http://www.oja.state.ok.us/final%20oja%20report%207-8-04.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://www.oja.state.ok.us/final%20oja%20report%207-8-04.pdf Shelf Number: 135872 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactGenderJuvenile Justice SystemsJuvenile OffendersRace/EthnicityRacial Disparities |
Author: Kutateladze, Besiki Title: Prosecution and Racial Justice in New York County -- Technical Report Summary: Minority overrepresentation in the criminal justice system is of great national concern. Prosecutors' discretion to file charges, change or reduce charges, plea bargain, and make sentencing recommendations is nearly unlimited. Despite this authority, prior research has not adequately examined the extent to which prosecutors may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities. Research on criminal case processing typically examines a single outcome from a particular decision-making point, making it difficult to draw reliable conclusions about the impact that factors such as defendants' race or ethnicity exert across successive stages of the justice system. Using a unique dataset from the New York County District Attorney's Office (DANY) that tracks a large sample of diverse criminal cases, this study assesses racial and ethnic disparity at multiple discretionary points of prosecution and sentencing. In addition to a large administrative dataset, randomly selected subsamples of misdemeanor marijuana and felony non-marijuana drug cases were chosen, and information on arrest circumstances and evidence factors was gathered from prosecutors' paper files to supplement our analyses. The study found that DANY prosecutes nearly all cases brought by the police with no marked racial or ethnic differences at case screening. For subsequent decisions, disparities varied by discretionary point and offense category. For all offenses combined, compared to similarly-situated white defendants, black and Latino defendants were more likely to be detained, to receive a custodial plea offer, and to be incarcerated; but they were also more likely to benefit from case dismissals. In terms of offense categories, blacks and Latinos were particularly likely to be held in pretrial detention for misdemeanor person offenses, followed by misdemeanor drug offenses. Blacks and Latinos were also most likely to have their cases dismissed for misdemeanor drug offenses. Disparities in custodial sentence offers as part of the plea bargaining process and ultimate sentences imposed were most pronounced for drug offenses, where blacks and Latinos received especially punitive outcomes. Asian defendants appeared to have most favorable outcomes across all discretionary points, as they were less likely to be detained, to receive custodial offers, and to be incarcerated relative to white defendants. Asian defendants received particularly favorable outcomes for misdemeanor property offenses. The study concludes with a discussion of implications for DANY and the research community, as well as study limitations. Details: New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2014. 283p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 12, 2014 at: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/race-and-prosecution-manhattan-technical.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/race-and-prosecution-manhattan-technical.pdf Shelf Number: 133017 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactMinority GroupsProsecution (New York)Prosecutorial DiscretionRacial Disparities |
Author: Californians for Safety and Justice Title: Latino Voices: The Impact of Crime and Criminal Justice Policies on Latinos Summary: Despite representing a larger portion of California's population than whites, Latinos are dramatically overrepresented as crime victims - and in our courts, jails and prisons. Research shows that Latinos receive harsher treatment in arrests, pretrial proceedings and sentencing than whites, even when charged with the same offenses. Other findings include: Victims of Crime - Latinos are murdered twice as much as whites in California -- and more by strangers. - Latinos are more likely to be shot and burglarized than whites. - Hate crimes against Latinos rise as immigration increases. - California Latinos experienced more repeat crimes than survivors overall. - Half of Latino survivors are unaware of recovery services. Unequal Treatment in the System - Latinos awaiting trial were more likely to be denied bail, or their bail was set higher than African Americans or whites. - Latinos were 44% more likely to be incarcerated than whites for the same crimes. Latinos Support Change - California Latino voters want officials to focus on less incarceration, not more - They want more supervised probation and rehabilitation by a five-to-one margin over sending more people to jail/prison. - Eight in 10 support shortening long sentences and using the savings for education, health services and prevention. Details: Oakland, CA: Californians for Safety and Justice, 2014. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2014 at: http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/211/04/1/430/LatinoReport_7.8.14v1.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/211/04/1/430/LatinoReport_7.8.14v1.pdf Shelf Number: 133073 Keywords: Bias Criminal Justice PoliciesDiscriminationDisproportionate Minority ContactHispanicsLatinosRacial Disparities (California) |
Author: Bellas, Marcia L. Title: Disproportionate Minority Contact Assessment: Court and Diversion Referral Decisions in Vermont's Juvenile Justice System Summary: In 2002, the State of Vermont began to monitor the contact of minority youth relative to white youth at various points in the Juvenile Justice system. In addition to compiling a statewide matrix annually, Vermont's juvenile justice specialist also gathers aggregate-level data for Chittenden, Rutland and Bennington Counties. The Vermont Center for Justice Research (VCJR) conducted three prior DMC assessments using individual-level data to determine the mechanisms responsible for the DMC reflected in aggregate-level data. These assessments examined DMC in admissions to Vermont's juvenile detention facility, DMC in arrests in four municipalities, and DMC in arrests in Burlington, Vermont's largest municipality. The primary goal of the current assessment was to explore whether there were indicators of DMC during at three-year period at three decision points in the juvenile justice system - referrals to juvenile court, referrals to adult court, and referrals to diversion, including to the extent possible pre-charge referrals to Community Justice Centers (CJCs). The assessment used individual-level court, juvenile/criminal history and CJC data for youth in Chittenden, Rutland and Bennington Counties for fiscal years 2009-2011 to determine whether individual-level differences between white and minority youth explain any disproportionate minority representation at the decision points of interest. Details: Northfield Falls, VT: Vermont Center for Justice Research, 2014. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 6, 2014 at: http://www.vcjr.org/reports/reportscrimjust/reports/dmcrpt_files/DMC%20Assessment%202014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.vcjr.org/reports/reportscrimjust/reports/dmcrpt_files/DMC%20Assessment%202014.pdf Shelf Number: 133558 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile CourtJuvenile Court TransferJuvenile Justice Systems (Vermont)Juvenile OffendersWaiver (of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction |
Author: Crenshaw, Kimberle Williams Title: Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected Summary: It is well-established in the research literature and by educational advocates that there is a link between the use of punitive disciplinary measures and subsequent patterns of criminal supervision and incarceration. Commonly understood as the "school-to-prison pipeline," this framework highlights the ways that punitive school policies lead to low achievement, system involvement, and other negative outcomes. Efforts to reverse the consequences of this pipeline have typically foregrounded boys of color, especially Black boys, who are suspended or expelled more than any other group. Against the backdrop of the surveillance, punishment, and criminalization of youth of color in the United States, Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected seeks to increase awareness of the gendered consequences of disciplinary and push-out policies for girls of color, and, in particular, Black girls.11 The report developed out of a critical dialogue about the various ways that women and girls of color are channeled onto pathways that lead to underachievement and criminalization. At the 2012 UCLA School of Law Symposium, "Overpoliced and Underprotected: Women, Race, and Criminalization,"12 formerly incarcerated women, researchers, lawyers, and advocates came together to address the alarming patterns of surveillance, criminal supervision, and incarceration among women and girls of color. The symposium was an effort to investigate the specific contours of race and gender in relationship to zero-tolerance policies, social marginalization, and criminalization. Details: New York: African American Policy Forum, Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies: 2015. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2015 at: http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/sites/default/files/uploads/BlackGirlsMatter_Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/sites/default/files/uploads/BlackGirlsMatter_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 134747 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactMinority Youth (U.S.)Racial DisparitiesSchool CrimeSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsZero Tolerance Policies |
Author: Keaton, Sandy Title: Seeking Alternatives: Understanding the Pathways to Incarceration of High-Risk Juvenile Offenders February 2015 Summary: In 2003, San Diego County's juvenile justice system formed a committee to address the issue of Disproportionate Minority Contact of youth, now referred to as Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparity (RED). This committee, which is comprised of key juvenile justice decision makers1 in San Diego County has spent years conducting research and internal reviews to identify and reduce disparities throughout the juvenile justice system. As part of this process, the committee sought to learn more about those youth most deeply entrenched in the system. Research has shown that the trajectory for most (e.g., 90%) juvenile offenders is away from offending and delinquent behaviors. However, for chronic offenders, their adolescent years are spent in and out of school, custody, and under the scrutiny of the court and the rules of probation. Recent research in the field has shown that long-term incarceration of youth does not reduce recidivism and in some cases, for lower-level offenders, it can actually increase criminal recidivism. This information, combined with the overrepresentation of youth of color in parts of the system, and the belief that more could be done to redirect these entrenched youth, provided the impetus for the RED committee to seek out the support of The California Wellness Foundation (CWF) to learn more about this population. RED members approached CWF to fund a study designed to examine factors contributing to youth becoming deeply entrenched in the juvenile justice system with the purpose to inform California juvenile justice systems. Of particular interest was capturing the youths' perspective on their experiences prior to and during their involvement in the justice system. In partnership with San Diego County Probation and The Children's Initiative, SANDAG's Applied Research Division designed and conducted a qualitative study of 40 high-risk youth either sentenced to the Youthful Offender Unit (YOU) or to the Community Transition Unit (CTU) to learn more about their paths deeper into the system and what interventions could have altered that course, and when those interventions could have been implemented to the greatest advantage. YOU is a graduated sanctions program in which youth are in custody locally for up to 9 months and supervised in their communities for the remaining 3 months, for a total of 12 months. CTU is a community-based supervision program for youth who are returning to their communities after completing a sentence in a Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facility. A mixed-model design was used with data gathered from a structured interview with the youth, validated assessments, and official Probation records. The goal of the research was to capture information on all the systems the youth had come in contact with, including education and Child Welfare Services (CWS). Details: San Diego: SANDAG, 2015. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 1, 2015 at: http://www.sandag.org/uploads/publicationid/publicationid_1925_18816.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.sandag.org/uploads/publicationid/publicationid_1925_18816.pdf Shelf Number: 135079 Keywords: Alternatives to IncarcerationCommunity SupervisionDisproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile OffendersJuvenile Reentry |
Author: Dolan, Karen Title: The Poor Get Prison: The Alarming Spread of the Criminalization of Poverty Summary: Poor people, especially people of color, face a far greater risk of being fined, arrested, and even incarcerated for minor offenses than other Americans. A broken taillight, an unpaid parking ticket, a minor drug offense, sitting on a sidewalk, or sleeping in a park can all result in jail time. In this report, we seek to understand the multi-faceted, growing phenomenon of the "criminalization of poverty." In many ways, this phenomenon is not new: The introduction of public assistance programs gave rise to prejudices against beneficiaries and to systemic efforts to obstruct access to the assistance. This form of criminalizing poverty - racial profiling or the targeting of poor black and Latina single mothers trying to access public assistance - is a relatively familiar reality. Less well-known known are the new and growing trends which increase this criminalization of being poor that affect or will affect hundreds of millions of Americans. These troubling trends are eliminating their chances to get out of poverty and access resources that make a safe and decent life possible. In this report we will summarize these realities, filling out the true breadth and depth of this national crisis. The key elements we examine are: - the targeting of poor people with fines and fees for misdemeanors, and the resurgence of debtors' prisons (the imprisonment of people unable to pay debts resulting from the increase in fines and fees); - mass incarceration of poor ethnic minorities for non-violent offenses, and the barriers to employment and re-entry into society once they have served their sentences; - excessive punishment of poor children that creates a "school-to-prison pipeline"; - increase in arrests of homeless people and people feeding the homeless, and criminalizing life-sustaining activities such as sleeping in public when no shelter is available; and - confiscating what little resources and property poor people might have through "civil asset forfeiture." Details: Washington, DC: Institute for Policy Studies, 2015. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://www.ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IPS-The-Poor-Get-Prison-Final.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IPS-The-Poor-Get-Prison-Final.pdf Shelf Number: 135148 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactPoverty (U.S.)Racial DisparitiesRacial Profiling |
Author: Wright, Kathy Title: The Incarceration of Children & Youth in New Jersey's Adult Prison System Summary: Each year, over 200,000 children and youth are tried as adults across the country. In the state of New Jersey, youth as young as 14 can be tried, sentenced and incarcerated in the adult prison system, and those age 16 or older are subject to mandatory (automatic) waivers if they commit certain crimes. It is the position of the New Jersey Parents' Caucus, Inc. (NJPC) and its membership that the state's current policies which promote the trying, sentencing and incarceration of children and youth between the ages of 14 and 17 in adult system are unjust and require further review. No youth should face an increased likelihood of adult waiver for a similar crime in a similar circumstance because of race, ethnicity, geography or socio-economic status. As well, for those children who are waived to the adult system, safety, rehabilitative services, treatment, and appropriate educational services and support, must be provided, particularly for those children with a history of mental health needs and/or special education involvement. As part of the New Jersey Youth Justice Initiative, we at the New Jersey Parents' Caucus have been able to gather comprehensive state data from the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJ DOC) on 472 children tried, sentenced, and incarcerated in the adult prison system. The data largely covers the period 2007 - 2015, though some information gathered dates back to 2003. In addition to the data retrieved from the NJ Department of Corrections, we've received qualitative data from a subset of the same population (120 youth) by means of a survey assessment provided to incarcerated youth and their parents, caregivers and family members. All data includes youth residing in the following adult prisons: Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, Albert Wagner Youth Correctional Facility, Northern State Prison, New Jersey State Prison, Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility, Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, South Woods State Prison, Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, Mid-State Correctional Facility, Southern State Correctional Facility, East Jersey State Prison, Central Reception and Assignment Facility, and Bayside State Prison. Our Key Findings - Gross Racial & Ethnic Disparities: Youth of color are disproportionately represented among those waived to the adult prison system in New Jersey and make up approximately 90% of youth included in our data set who are incarcerated in the adult system. Of those children and youth, approximately 72% of are African American and 18% are Latino. - Justice by Geography: Rates of incarceration in the adult prison system vary significantly across counties in New Jersey, suggesting that justice depends on where one lives, not on the facts of a given case. For example, in Camden County, 14 to 17 year olds make up 5.8% of the population of children between the ages of 0-17, but make up 15.3% of our data set between 2007 and 2015. In comparison, in Hunterdon County, where youth 14 to 17 make up 6.3% of the population of children between the ages of 0-17, 0% were incarcerated in the adult system between 2007 and 2015. - Youth are Regularly Deprived of Due Process: Approximately 30% of the 472 youth waived to adult court during the study period spent more than 2 years incarcerated, between their arrest date and their sentencing date. - Youth are Subject to Long Term Solitary Confinement In the Adult Prison System: Solitary confinement is known to be psychologically damaging, especially to children. Yet, based on our survey data, over half the youth in adult prisons are put into solitary confinement; 5 percent spend over a year there, and about 4 percent spent 2 years or more in solitary. Nearly 70 percent of those placed in solitary had a mental health disorder. - Youth Suffer Abuse While in Adult Prison. Once incarcerated in an adult prison, one in four youth surveyed reported physical abuse; 5% reported sexual abuse. - Youth Needs are Not being Met in the Community: About 71% of youth waived to the adult system were known to at least two child-serving agencies, prior to their involvement in adult court, with the majority having been involved in the mental health system. Of those youth, more than two out of three children and youth have two or more mental health diagnoses. Details: Elizabeth, NJ: New Jersey Parents' Caucus, 2015. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2015 at: http://cfc.ncmhjj.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/NJPC_YJI-Data-BriefFinalll.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://cfc.ncmhjj.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/NJPC_YJI-Data-BriefFinalll.pdf Shelf Number: 136088 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile DetentionJuvenile OffendersRacial DisparitiesYouth in Adult Prisons |
Author: Williams, Patrick Title: Dangerous associations: joint enterprise, gangs and racism. An analysis of the processes of criminalisation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals Summary: Following the publication of Baroness Young's review Improving outcomes for young black and/or Muslim men in the Criminal Justice System in 2014, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies commissioned the authors to write a research and policy project to explore the relationship between Joint Enterprise, gangs, and the police's gang database, and ethnicity. This study also forms part of the authors' response to a call by the House of Commons Justice Committee for a rigorous consideration of the possible relationship between the disproportionate application of collective punishments/sanctions and in particular, the Joint Enterprise (JE) upon BAME individuals and groups. The findings offer a critical analysis of contemporary responses to the 'gang', highlighting limitations in the evidence base that currently informs the pursuit of collective sanctions against alleged 'gang' members and their associates. This report reveals the dangerous associations of a series of negative constructs, signifying racialised stereotypes that endure and underpin contemporary policing and prosecution strategies in relation to serious youth violence in England and Wales. The net effect of criminal justice policies which are designed to 'disrupt' and 'end' the gang, is the disproportionate punishment of young people from minority ethnic (particularly black) groups while failing to adequately curtail levels of serious youth violence across England and Wales. Details: London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 2016. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2016 at: http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/Dangerous%20assocations%20Joint%20Enterprise%20gangs%20and%20racism.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/Dangerous%20assocations%20Joint%20Enterprise%20gangs%20and%20racism.pdf Shelf Number: 137686 Keywords: BiasDisproportionate Minority ContactGangsMinority GroupsRace/EthnicityRacial Disparities |
Author: Dumont, Robyn Title: Disproportionate Contact: Youth of Color in Maine's Juvenile Justice System Summary: Research staff at the USM Muskie School work in partnership with Maine's Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) in support of the goal of producing information to enhance Maine's understanding of disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in the state. This research documents the rate of disproportionate minority contact (DMC) for youth involved in Maine's juvenile justice system, differences in pathways to detention for youth of color, and the experiences of youth and families of color who have had contact with Maine's juvenile justice system. It uses a relative rate index (RRI) to demonstrate how youth of color are treated in comparison to their white counterparts throughout nine separate contact points in the juvenile justice system. This Maine-focused research report aligns with several federal, state, and local efforts aimed at promoting equity for youth of color throughout the juvenile justice system. In part, this report fulfills a federal grant requirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to identify DMC within the juvenile justice system in Maine. In order to assist states in their efforts to comply with the DMC requirements of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), the OJJDP funds state-based advisory groups to understand and reduce DMC in their jurisdictions. Maine's Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) has partnered with the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine to conduct this research to inform these efforts. Details: Portland, OR: University of Southern Maine, Muskie School of Public Service, 2015. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2016 at: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/justiceresearch/Publications/Juvenile/DMC.FINAL.05.15.2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/justiceresearch/Publications/Juvenile/DMC.FINAL.05.15.2015.pdf Shelf Number: 138570 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Justice SystemsRacial BiasRacial Disparities |
Author: Stevens, Tia Title: Effects of County and State Economic, Social, and Political Contexts on Racial/Ethnic and Gender Differences in Youth's Penetration into the Justice System Summary: The current study is designed to extend the empirical and theoretical research on disproportionate youth contact with the justice system. Missing from the considerable body of work examining the effects of extralegal factors on police behavior and justice system processing is an examination of the social, political, and economic contextual factors that may influence disparities in justice system contact. The current study addresses this gap by identifying contextual factors associated with severity of justice system response to youth and by identifying the macro-structural environments that disproportionately affect young women and youth of color. Specifically, it examines the direct effects of county and state characteristics on youth risk of arrest and probabilities of charge, a court appearance, conviction, and placement and how the effects of individual characteristics and county and state characteristics interact to disproportionately impact certain groups of youth in certain environments. The main dataset for this study was constructed from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97). Using the confidential NLSY97 Geocode File, the NLSY97 was appended with county- and state-specific data from various publically available sources indicating structural disadvantage, population composition, political conservatism, prosecutor's office characteristics, delinquency petition and crime rates, gender inequity, child health and well-being, and juvenile justice policy punitiveness. To take advantage of the longitudinal nature of the NLSY97 data, a combination of multilevel modeling techniques, event history analysis, and generalized linear modeling was employed to examine the effects of individual characteristics and contextual conditions on youths' risk of arrest and probabilities of charge, a court appearance, conviction, and placement. The findings suggest that the effects of gender and racial/ethnic group on youth penetration into the justice system are more pronounced at some decision-making levels and depend on contextual environment. The results of the analyses by race, gender, and ethnicity suggest three major findings. First, racial disparities are present in youth risk of arrest, which are magnified in predominately non-Black communities. However, this study also found evidence of a compensatory effect whereby Black youth receive more favorable court dispositions than their non-Black counterparts. Second, the gender gap in youth justice system processing depends on state climates of women and children's health and wellbeing. Specifically, as women and children's health and wellbeing decrease, the gender gap in processing narrows and, in the case of court appearance, reverses. Third and finally, Hispanic youth are treated disproportionately more harshly in states with poor climates of children's health and wellbeing and in states with less punitive juvenile justice systems. Overall, the findings indicate that the reduction of gender and racial/ethnic disparities is unlikely without commitment to the structural reform of inequalities. Intervention efforts to reduce disparities should be multifaceted and include community-based youth-serving organizations and human services agencies, in addition to criminal and juvenile justice agencies. Details: Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, 2013. 107p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 21, 2016 at: http://etd.lib.msu.edu/islandora/object/etd%3A327/datastream/OBJ/view Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://etd.lib.msu.edu/islandora/object/etd%3A327/datastream/OBJ/view Shelf Number: 139088 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Justice PolicyJuvenile Justice SystemsRace/EthnicityRacial Disparities |
Author: Vessels, Lauren Title: Racial and Ethnic Fairness in Juvenile Justice: Availability of State Data Summary: Youth of color are overrepresented in many aspects of the juvenile justice system from arrest to court referral and confinement. A core requirement of federal juvenile justice policy (Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002) requires each state to identify where disparities may exist across various juvenile justice decision points. Where disparities are identified, the states must complete self-assessments informed by comprehensive data and use this research to develop solutions. The monitoring task begins with understanding federal policy for identifying racial and ethnic groups and exploring what national juvenile arrest data can tell us. Of equal importance is charting state progress toward transparently reporting meaningful fairness indicators to the public, conducting more detailed self-assessments and advancing specific strategies to improve racial and ethnic fairness at the local-level. This publication summarizes the results from a review of publicly available data that describe racial and ethnic fairness across the country. This StateScan publication is the 7th in a series that distills important knowledge from NCJJ's new Juvenile Justice Geography, Policy, Practice & Statistics website (www.JJGPS.org). The author organizes results from a national search for publicly available state-level sources for racial and ethnic fairness data. This publication outlines important details provided in the data, describes the importance of sharing this data publicly, and discusses the underlying obstacles to data collection. This original analysis also describes the federal requirements to collect and report this data; however, few states share this information with the public. Details: Pittsburgh: National Center for Juvenile Justice, 2015. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: StateScan: Accessed May 6, 2016 at: http://www.ncjj.org/news/15-08-06/New_JJGPS_StateScan_-_Racial_and_Ethnic_Fairness_in_Juvenile_Justice_Availability_of_State_Data.aspx Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjj.org/news/15-08-06/New_JJGPS_StateScan_-_Racial_and_Ethnic_Fairness_in_Juvenile_Justice_Availability_of_State_Data.aspx Shelf Number: 138960 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Justice SystemsJuvenile OffendersMinoritiesRacial Disparities |
Author: Spinney, Elizabeth Title: Case Studies of Nine Jurisdictions that Reduced Disproportionate Minority Contact in their Juvenile Justice Systems Summary: ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, youths of color are more likely than their white peers to be arrested and referred to juvenile court. After becoming involved in the juvenile justice system, they are also more likely to go deeper into the system, resulting in a higher likelihood of secure detainment, confinement, and transfer to adult court. Minority youths are also less likely to be diverted from court. This phenomenon, known as disproportionate minority contact (DMC), has been recognized for decades as a deep-rooted problem in the juvenile justice system. All states are required to address DMC to stay in compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) tracks compliance with this JJDPA requirement. In 2005, OJJDP began requiring states to input data on the flow of youths at nine points in their juvenile justice systems into a Web-based data entry system. Until now, there has been no methodical national analysis of these data. This study is the first to systematically review the data in OJJDP’s database, to identify sites that have been able to reduce DMC over an extended period of time, and to gather information on the strategies used in those successful sites. At the start of this study, OJJDP’s Web-based data entry system had reports from nearly 1,500 jurisdictions across the United States. The top 20 jurisdictions with reductions in racial disparities for five of OJJDP’s nine juvenile justice stages (referral, diversion, detention, confinement, and transfer) were selected for further study. After analyzing data trends, gathering information from state Juvenile Justice Specialists and DMC Coordinators, interviewing stakeholders and decision-makers in jurisdictions of interest, presenting findings during meetings and conferences, receiving input from OJJDP, and meeting with our Advisory Committee, nine jurisdictions were selected for case studies. Five of the nine jurisdictions reduced DMC at arrest or referral to court, three jurisdictions reduced DMC at diversion, four jurisdictions reduced DMC at detention, and two jurisdictions reduced DMC at secure confinement. Eight of the jurisdictions reduced DMC for African American youth, eight jurisdictions reduced DMC for Hispanic youth, and two jurisdictions reduced DMC for Native American youth. The nine jurisdictions selected as case study sites were 1) Bernalillo County, N.M., 2) Clark County, Nev., 3) the state of Connecticut, 4) Essex County, N.J., 5) Hillsborough County, N.H., 6) Montgomery County, Ala., 7) Philadelphia, Pa., 8) Tulsa County, Okla., and 9) Utah County, Utah. These nine case study sites represent a diverse group of jurisdictions both geographically and demographically. The smallest jurisdiction by population was Montgomery County, Ala., which had fewer than 250,000 residents, and the largest jurisdiction was the state of Connecticut, which had more than 3.5 million residents. Some of the sites, such as Utah County, Utah, and Bernalillo County, N.M., were gaining youth population while others, such as Philadelphia, Pa., were losing youth population. The portion of youth population ages 10–17 that was minority ranged from 15 percent in Hillsborough County, N.H., to 78 percent in Philadelphia. The poverty rates for children and youth also varied significantly among the nine sites. Although the selected sites had numerous differences, interviewees often pointed to similar strategies that they felt were responsible for reducing racial disparities in their systems. The eight most-noted strategies were 1. Focusing on data collection and utilization 2. Increasing collaboration with other state and local agencies, police, judges, and the community 3. Changing the institutional culture away from a punitive or procedural focus toward a focus on what was best for the youth and the community 4. Affiliating with national juvenile justice reform initiatives 5. Creating alternatives to secure detention, secure confinement, and formal system involvement 6. Focusing intentionally on DMC reduction (and not just on general system improvement) while using a non-accusatory tone 7. Leadership at the local level, the state level, or both 8. Making DMC reduction a long-term priority While these eight strategies were the most common, each site approached its unique DMC problems in its own way. Following is a brief summary of strategies utilized and achievements gained in each of the nine Details: Bethesda, MD: Development Services Group, Inc., 2014. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 19, 2016 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250301.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250301.pdf Shelf Number: 147746 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Justice SystemsMinority YouthsRacial Disparities |
Author: Haight, Konrad Title: An Examination of Ethnic Disparities in Arizona's Juvenile Justice System: Final Technical Report Summary: Research on disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system has generally concluded that Black youth are subject to disparate treatment such that they typically are more likely than White youth to face more formal and more punitive treatment at the various decision points in the juvenile court process. Research on disparate treatment for Latino youth in the juvenile justice system has been relatively rare, and the results of those studies have provided inconsistent evidence on the nature of disparities between Latino and White youth. This study sought to address such gaps in the research with a comprehensive assessment of juvenile justice case processing for a two-year period in the state of Arizona. Using a data set particularly well-suited for this examination, we believe the results of this study contribute meaningfully to the literature on ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. Using data from the state of Arizona that included 75,316 referrals to the juvenile justice system over the two-year period from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014, we applied five research questions to data on eight distinct decision points. We controlled for key legal factors such as the referral offense, the number of prior referrals, and whether the youth was involved in dependency court in addition to juvenile court. The level of detail in the data allowed us to investigate whether disparity varied depending on the type of referral offense and the county in which the youth was referred. Does disparity affecting Latino youth exist statewide in Arizona? If we look at rates of referral to juvenile court, we find that White youth are actually more likely to be referred to juvenile court than Latino youth. This is in contrast to the patterns of referral rates for Black and Native American youth-both groups are more likely than White youth to be referred to juvenile court, with Black youth referred more than twice as often as White youth. Once they are referred to juvenile court, however, there are a number of ways that Latino youth experience their processing in the juvenile justice system disproportionately more punitive than White youth. Latino youth are underrepresented in diversions from formal court processing, and overrepresented in direct filings to adult court, in pre-adjudicatory secure detention, in petitions filed for formal juvenile court processing, and in commitments to correctional facilities at disposition. Does observed disparity affecting Latino youth remain when we control for other factors that might impact juvenile justice decision making? Based on multivariate analyses that controlled for the influence of age, gender, number of priors, most serious current offense, and dependency status, we find that the disparities identified above remain even after taking into account these other factors. Across the state, if they were referred to juvenile court, Latino youth were less likely than White youth to receive an opportunity to avoid formal court processing and more likely to experience more punitive treatment at the various decision points. Does disparity affecting Latino youth vary by county? We did find a pattern of results that was generally consistent across the different counties. This pattern is that Latino youth are less likely than White youth to be referred to juvenile court and to be diverted from formal court processing, but more likely to be securely detained prior to adjudication, have a petition filed for formal court processing, and be committed to a correctional facility after disposition. We did find some counties where this pattern was not detected, and those were the counties in which the Latino youth were the largest racial/ethnic group in the general population. Does disparity affecting Latino youth vary based on the type of offense for which the youth was referred? By considering each decision point broken down by the type of offense, we find there are complexities to the patterns of disparities for Latino youth in juvenile courts in Arizona. For example, Latino youth are overall less likely to be referred to juvenile court than White youth, except in the case of violent felonies, status offenses, and violations, for which we find Latino youth to be more likely than White youth to be referred to court. Also, Latino youth are overrepresented in secure detention placements, except when the offense was a violation or a violent misdemeanor. In addition, the biggest disparities for Latino youth with regard to the filing of petitions for formal court processing are in the case of property misdemeanors and for drug felonies. Finally, while we find that Latino youth are more likely to be committed to correctional placements after disposition, the disparities are greatest for violent misdemeanors and felonies and for drug felonies. Does disparity affecting Latino youth differ depending on whether the county of referral is participating in JDAI? We find that at several of the decision points, the disparities between Latino and White youth in the JDAI counties are smaller than what we find in the non-JDAI counties, particularly at the decision points of direct file, diversion, petition, and probation. There are other decision points where the differences between JDAI and non-JDAI counties are rather small, namely secure detention and adjudication. Placement in correctional facilities is one decision point where Latino youth in the JDAI counties fare worse than in non-JDAI counties. Key findings from this study include: - Latino youth are not overrepresented in referrals to juvenile court, but they do experience disparate treatment once they are in the system. - Latino youth are more likely than White youth to experience the most severe and restrictive punishments that the juvenile justice system has to offer. This includes direct filings in adult court, placement in pre-adjudicatory secure detention, and placement in confinement following disposition. - When it comes to severe and restrictive punishments, Black youth experience greater levels of disparity than Latino youth. - In most cases, legal factors that we controlled for do not account for the observed disparities. - Patterns of disparity are consistent across counties for Black youth, but this is not true of Latino youth, where disparity appears to vary with the proportion of the population that are Latino. - Disparity varies depending on the type of offense and this is consistent across racial and ethnic groups. The data used for this study are particularly well-suited for examining the extent to which Latino youth experience disparate treatment in the juvenile justice system. As such, the results can help guide future research and help policy makers in their efforts to address ethnic disparities. Implications for policy and practice include: - Ongoing assessment of disparity should move beyond a statewide only approach, focusing on areas with the greatest levels of disparity to ensure more efficient use of resources while generating greater reductions in disparity. - In counties where one race/ethnicity experiences greater disparity than other, it may make sense to work with those communities to determine the root of the problem. Where disparity is experienced across race/ethnicity groups, it may make more sense to look at official policies and procedures that might contribute to disparity across the board. - Future studies should augment their focus on county-level relative rates of risk with a county-level understanding of the juvenile justice system. Policies and practices at the county level can impact disparity and are vital to not only understanding why disparity exists, but also how to address it. - Future studies should incorporate a more complete understanding of previous offense histories, risk assessment scores, and include data collected over a longer period of time. - Whenever possible, it is important to consider ways that responses to particular offenses may introduce disparities in processing of youth through the court progression. Details: Indianapolis, IN: American Institutes for Research, 2016. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 26, 2017 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250803.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250803.pdf Shelf Number: 146384 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile CourtJuvenile Justice SystemsLatino YouthMinority YouthRacial BiasRacial Disparities |
Author: Davis, Alicia J. Title: How Has the Baltimore County Public School System Addressed Disproportionate Minority Suspensions? Summary: Disproportionate minority contact refers to the higher proportion of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJJDP], 1999). Researchers have found overrepresentation at every point of contact, from arrest to referral to adjudication (Hamparian & Leiber, 1997; Kakar, 2006). Furthermore, research has shown that the school system is yet another point of contact, where minority students are disproportionately arrested or referred to the juvenile justice system. Nicholas-Crotty, Birchmeier, and Valentine (2009) argue that the disproportionate use of exclusionary discipline by schools has created patterns of disproportionate minority contact, which ultimately are replicated, at least in part, by referrals to juvenile courts. They examined school disciplinary data from 53 Missouri counties and found that schools disproportionately targeting African American students for exclusionary sanctions also experienced higher rates of juvenile court referrals for African American youth. This trend has been defined as the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP), which is a system of educational public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into the criminal justice system (N.Y. Civil Liberties Union, n.d.). The STPP is fueled by zero-tolerance school policies. Zero-tolerance policies have been blamed for many of the disparities in school disciplinary actions. These policies, initially intended to deter serious offenses from occurring in schools, now include mostly minor offenses leading to more suspensions and expulsions (Johnson-Davis, 2012; Skiba, 2004). According to Skiba and Knesting (2001), 94 percent of schools now have some form of zero-tolerance policy in effect. In addition, although all races and genders are affected by these strict policies, researchers find that children of color are impacted the most (Advancement Project, 2005). For years, researchers and advocates have attempted to expose the negative consequences of zero-tolerance policies, such as the STPP. Studies across the nation - notably in Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, and Oregon public schools - have proven that minority students are overrepresented in the use of out-of-school suspensions (Florida State Conference NAACP, 2006; Johnson-Davis, 2012; Langberg & Brege, 2009; Portland Public Schools, 2002-03). Consequently, students are directly and indirectly being filtered into the juvenile justice system. Studies also have shown that children who have been suspended are more likely to be retained in grade, to drop out, to commit a crime, and/or to end up incarcerated (Johnson-Davis, 2012). Johnson-Davis (2012) conducted a study on Maryland's Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) for the 2008-09 school year and found that out of 103,180 students, 20,178 (19.5 percent) were suspended out of school. Of this number, 13 percent were in elementary school, 28 percent were in middle school, and 55 percent were in high school. At all school levels, suspensions were given most for disrespect/insubordination/disruption offenses. For these minor infractions, the percentage of suspensions given in elementary school, middle school, and high school were 24 percent, 44 percent, and 41 percent, respectively. The main focus of the BCPS study was to determine if a relationship existed between African American students and disproportionate school discipline practices in the system. The study explored the relationship between African American students and suspensions (in and out of school), and attempted to determine if that relationship varied based on students' academic performance. Results of a correlation and chi-square analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between African American students and suspension rates in BCPS (Johnson-Davis, 2012). The data revealed the strongest relationship in elementary schools. Specifically, a significant relationship was observed between the percentage of African American students and both in-school (0.328) and out-of-school (0.634) suspensions. Also, in high schools, a significant relationship was revealed between the percentage of African American students and in-school (0.465) suspensions. Additionally, a logistic regression analysis was used to determine if the percentage of African American students significantly predicted school suspensions when controlling for the effects of gender and student performance on standardized math tests (Johnson-Davis, 2012). Again, in elementary schools, the percentage of African American students was significantly and positively related to out-of-school suspensions even after controlling for gender and student performance on standardized math tests. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that performance on the standardized math test was significantly and negatively related to out-of-school suspensions in elementary schools, suggesting that African American youth who scored high on the standardized math test were less likely to receive an out-of-school suspension than African American youth who performed poorly (Johnson-Davis, 2012). Details: Baltimore: Schaefer Center for Public Policy University of Baltimore - College of Public Affairs, 2015. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2017 at: https://www.ubalt.edu/cpa/schaefer-center/minority_-suspensions_report_revised.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.ubalt.edu/cpa/schaefer-center/minority_-suspensions_report_revised.pdf Shelf Number: 147542 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactRacial DisparitiesSchool DisciplineSchool SuspensionsSchool-to-Prison PipelineZero Tolerance Policy |
Author: Delay, Dennis Title: Disproportionate Minority Contact in New Hampshire: Juvenile Justice DMC Assessment Summary: National data suggests that minorities are overrepresented in juvenile justice systems across the country, and that DMC increases as youth move through the system. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division recently completed an investigation into the operations of the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, and found extensive racial disparities in the treatment of African American children: African American youth are twice as likely as white youth to be recommended for transfer to adult court. Our analysis indicates that DMC does exist in the New Hampshire juvenile justice system. However, there are significant hurdles, both in terms of data reliability and statistical precision, in calculating trustworthy DMC measurements in New Hampshire, particularly outside of the state's larger municipalities. The Division for Juvenile Justice Services (DJJS) currently calculates DMC measurements along the nine points of contact for the cities of Manchester, Nashua and Rochester annually. We recommend that DJJS extend the detailed DMC calculation to the municipalities of Concord and Salem, and that consideration be given to establishing regional DMC committees in those municipalities. We also recommend that DMC data collection be improved in New Hampshire. Some of these efforts to gather better DMC data are already underway, including improvements in the design of the juvenile petition. The importance of more reliable DMC data cannot be overstressed, as identifying the reasons for DMC are critical as New Hampshire moves from identification of DMC, to assessment and finally to methods and approaches for reducing DMC in New Hampshire. Details: Concord, NH: New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, 2013. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 18, 2017 at: http://www.nhpolicy.org/UploadedFiles/Reports/DMCAssessment2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nhpolicy.org/UploadedFiles/Reports/DMCAssessment2013.pdf Shelf Number: 148223 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactEthnic DisparitiesJuvenile Justice systemsJuvenile OffendersRacial BiasRacial Disparities |
Author: Delay, Dennis Title: Juvenile Justice in New Hampshire; Disproportionate Minority Contact Identification 2013 Summary: National data suggests that minorities are overrepresented in juvenile justice systems across the country, and that DMC increases as youth move through the system. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division recently completed an investigation into the operations of the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, and found extensive racial disparities in the treatment of African American children: African American youth are twice as likely as white youth to be recommended for transfer to adult court. Our analysis indicates that DMC does exist in the New Hampshire juvenile justice system. However, there are significant hurdles, both in terms of data reliability and statistical precision, in calculating trustworthy DMC measurements in New Hampshire, particularly outside of the state's larger municipalities. The Division for Juvenile Justice Services (DJJS) currently calculates DMC measurements along the nine points of contact for the cities of Manchester, Nashua and Rochester annually. We recommend that DJJS extend the detailed DMC calculation to the municipalities of Concord and Salem, and that consideration be given to establishing regional DMC committees in those municipalities. We also recommend that DMC data collection be improved in New Hampshire. Some of these efforts to gather better DMC data are already underway, including improvements in the design of the juvenile petition. The importance of more reliable DMC data cannot be overstressed, as identifying the reasons for DMC are critical as New Hampshire moves from identification of DMC, to assessment and finally to methods and approaches for reducing DMC in New Hampshire. Details: Concord, NH: New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, 2013. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 18, 2017 at: http://www.nhpolicy.org/UploadedFiles/Reports/DMCIdentification2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nhpolicy.org/UploadedFiles/Reports/DMCIdentification2013.pdf Shelf Number: 148224 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority Contact Ethnic Disparities Juvenile Justice systems Juvenile Offenders Racial BiasRacial Disparities |