Race and Ethnicity of Juvenile Offenders
Shawndena Redmond
University of Phoenix
CJA/423- Rita Lazar
July 18, 2011

Race and Ethnicity of Juvenile Offenders Juvenile crime in the United States has reached an epidemic; the overwhelming amount of juvenile offenders ensures a booming corrections industry, unfortunately with those figures come racial and ethnic disparities. To completely understand why disparities are important, one must attempt to comprehend the base causes for the enormous amount of juvenile crime in the United States. Many developments within the criminal justice system have helped reduce the amount of racially induced arrests; however, nothing has been presented to reduce the root causes for the crime levels and the disparities that still exist. The following paper will discuss juvenile justice statistics, legislation of racial bias in the juvenile justice system, racial disparities, and root causes as well as possible solutions. Statistics To understand the evidence that is currently available, nationally, is very important when discussing disparities of a juvenile offender's race and ethnicity. The most recently available statistics are those of 2007 for juvenile offenders. First, one must understand that many cases of juvenile arrests are not reported to the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) of the Federal Bureau of Investigations due to a variety of state and federal limitations on juvenile information. In 2007 law enforcement agencies in the United States made an estimated 2.18 million arrests of persons under the age 18 (Puzzanchera, 2009). Out of approximately 14 million arrests made for all crimes and ages in 2007, statistics show that juvenile arrests equaled roughly 15% of all arrests made. Juvenile arrests equaled over 18% of all adult arrests, which means for every 18 adults arrested one juvenile was arrested. Obviously, these are only arrest statistics and these statistics do not properly mirror completed cases and incarcerations. According to Puzzanchera (2009) in 2007, although black youth accounted for just 17% of the youth population ages 10-17; black juveniles were involved in 51% of juvenile Violent Crime Index arrests and 32% of juvenile Property Crime Index arrests (Juvenile Arrests 2007). Consequently, the nature of the crime is the real issue and not the supposed disparity of arrest figures. In fact when viewing the basic figures, there is no actual disparity in arrests on a broad scale. The current figures, per the 2000 Census, reveals almost 18% of the population, meaning 17% of the arrest rate is lower than the population numbers in general. However, close to 60% of African Americans live in inner-city areas, and due to a large percentage of the crime occurring in inner-city areas, it is relatively certain that a greater number of African Americans may, in fact, be arrested and/or incarcerated for particular crimes versus other racial groups. However, there has been a decline in the past 15 years of violent crimes committed by African American juveniles. From the early to mid 90’s there has been a noted drop in violent crimes among African American juveniles with a somewhat steady, but not waning, level for Caucasian juveniles. Also, from 1986 until 2007 there was a general increase in aggravated assault cases resulting in a disparity of data. However, as Puzzanchera (2009) stated in his report, "The racial composition of the U.S. juvenile population ages 10-17 in 2007 was 78% white, 17% black, 5% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1% American Indian." Although this is still an "over-representation" concerning the connection between certain crime types and African American juveniles, individuals should understand that in other criminal categories minorities are not over-represented.
Legislation
A range of different forms of legislation and legal models have been passed and/or decided on in an effort to deter the general disparity and racial bias that individuals come in contact with through the American Juvenile Justice system. The first of these legislative attempts was the Fourteenth Amendment; adopted July 9, 1868; this amendment followed the civil war and countered the earlier legal decision (Scott v. Sanford) regarding Black citizenship. Secondly, the Fifteenth Amendment; adopted in 1870 this amendment states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude" (1870). In the years to come, there were numerous Jim Crow laws passed by the Democrat Party. These various laws were legislated to create a "separate but equal" status for Blacks and Whites, also known as segregation. The Civil Rights Case, 109 U.S. 3 (1883) stated, "That all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theatres, and other places of public amusement, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to citizens of every race and color, regardless of any previous condition of servitude." Unfortunately, during the beginning of the 20th century there were more Jim Crow laws passed on a local level than in many states. The legal decision Brown versus Board of education (1954) stated, "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of, "Separate but equal" has no place." With this decision many changes began and within 10 years legislation (Civil Rights Act of 1964) was being passed that ensured the equality of all men in a positive manner, with civil rights leaders like Martin L. King Jr. and organizations like National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP) these rights were ensured. However, socially the idea of segregation and the many years of its teachings have resulted in a continuing fashion of racism.
Racial Disparities Within the Juvenile Justice System, to this day, there still appears to be prejudicial treatment; however, they may just be disparities. No one individual can deny that racism has existed or still does in certain instances; just not institutionalized. The criminal justice system was formed to judge all individuals equally. However, there are some opinions that proclaim unfairness towards urban black youth; as their families are not as financially stable as a suburban white youth families. As a result this is the unfortunate side effects of different societies and not a racist advance within the criminal justice system. In all fairness, fines are given within the same range for all those individuals who commit similar crimes; however, it is the bail where the true disparities can be seen. Bail amounts according to the Eighth Amendment (1791), "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." Unfortunately, the terminology allows an extensive approach when applying bail; it should not equal to an individuals monthly, annual, bi annual income or more than their salary. According to the decision in Stack versus Boyle, 342 U.S. 1 (1951) Justice's Jackson and Frankfurter stated, "In allowance of bail, the duty of the judge is to reduce the risk by fixing an amount reasonably calculated to hold the accused available for trial and its consequence" (United States Marshal). Excessive bail amounts would not be allowed this case has helped guide sitting justices for decades. According to a Justice Policy Institute report published 2002, between the years 1985 and 1995 the proportion of minority youth in detention (pre-trial) increased and eventually represented the largest number of detained juveniles. The report went on to say, "Because detention is a key entry point from which youth further penetrate the juvenile justice system, decisions made at detention can have a profound impact on inequity - for better or worse." (Schirali, Ziedenberg, 2002)
Causes and Possible Solutions Evident disparities and their reasons are not as apparent as it may seem. While it remains obvious that white juveniles are as much involved in the utilization of illegal substances, there is a definite disparity in pre-trial detention for this offense. While some theorists claim that racism is far more rampant, it can also be assumed that these disparities are based on imperfect policy approaches within the Justice System as well. While the Federal government recently released new training procedures concerning racially and ethnically-based profiling, this does not essentially indicate an immediate change. In fact, it is more likely that law enforcement that have patrolled the streets longer could be using old practices simply because they have used these approaches for many years and they have become “the norm.” Pre-trial detention and sentencing is another area of concern. Presently, statistics prove, there is support of the idea that "profiling" does exist within this system. Of course there is the likelihood that this is merely a matter of approach. In many instances bail may be the same or comparable in amount; however, in many instances the larger numbers placed in pre-trial detention are, inner-city youths who cannot pay the required bail. Sentencing also embodies another possible dilemma; with an unbalanced quantity of minorities being incarcerated, one could presume that the justice system is at fault. However, this may be the result of the disparity in the abilities of public defenders versus paid legal attorneys. Public defenders do not necessarily have the financial resources needed to create an adequate defense. Public defenders may be more likely to accept a plea bargain than a paid attorney based on financial limitations. In various cases private investigators and/or witnesses, those who can provide testimony on a defendants behalf, are hired to provide pertinent information; which can ultimately help put the state's case in jeopardy. Due to a disparity of those lacking financial means, minority defendants and those defendants with public defenders, regardless of race, are less likely to have the necessary finances available for this luxury; resulting in the acceptance of a plea deal instead of having charges dismissed or receiving sentence reductions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, for all of the stated reasons, statistically, it appears that race issues are in fact, institutionalized; however, when one looks at the common law enforcement policies, until recently, it becomes evident that in many cases profiling has grown based on commonly held prejudices and not the statistical evidence as previously stated. In fact there is little evidence that supports the usage of racial profiling alone as an indicator of criminal activity. In the eyes of law enforcement race or ethnically-based profiling is a useful and appropriate tool; however, it is only a tool and should not be used alone due to its approach being viewed as a negative social impact. Within the juvenile justice system there is noticeable discrepancies in many areas, mainly in pre-trial detention and sentencing. While arrests are generally within the accepted proportions, it is the trial and sentencing stage that seems to be the obvious current problem. There have been amended advances to present policing and judicial approaches which could help alter the current disparity that exists. To that end, providing additional research in this area could probably afford better changes needed to serve the community and lessen the idea that racism is institutionalized within the criminal justice system.

References
BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION, 347 U.S. 483, Initials. (1954). U.S. Supreme Court. Argued December 9, 1952. Reargued December 8, 1953. Decided May 17, 1954. , Retrieved from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=347&invol=483 Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3, Initials. (1883). U.S. Supreme Court. Submitted October Term, 1882 Decided October 16th, 1888, Retrieved from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=109&invol=3 Eighth Amendment, Initials. (1791). 1 annals of congress 438 (1789). Introduced by James Madison ratified by Congress in 1791
Puzzanchera, C. (2009). Juvenile arrests 2007. Juvenile Justice Bulletin, Office of Justice Programs, Retrieved from www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/crime/JAR.asp
Schirali, Ziedenberg, V, J. (2002). Reducing disproportionate minority confinement: the Multnomah County, Oregon success story and its implications. Justice Policy Institute, (pg. 3), Retrieved from http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/02-01_REP_ORMultnomahDMCSuccess_RD.pdf Stack vs. Boyle, 342 U.S. 1 (1951) , . (2010). Stack et al. v. boyle, United States Marshal. Petition for writ of certiorari to the United States court of appeals for the ninth circuit. no. 400. Argued October 18, 1951. Decided November 5, 1951, Retrieved from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=342&invol=1#4