NCJ Number
83861
Date Published
1982
Length
361 pages
Annotation
Recommendations are offered in the areas of education, housing, economic development, employment, juvenile justice, and the administration of justice to reduce the political, social, and economic isolation of blacks in Miami, Fla.
Abstract
The findings and recommendations of this study are drawn from research and public hearings conducted by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in Miami after the civil disturbances in that city in May 1980. Findings show that black isolation in Miami is related to high unemployment and a lack of access to job training and advancement, adequate housing, the justice system, and equal educational opportunity for the city's black population. Justice in Miami is administered in a way that excludes blacks and appears incapable of condemning official violence against them. Black complaints of police violence against them are common. The underlying causes range from police employment practices to inadequate police training and evaluation. The department screens applicants for the force with an allegedly biased test. Although Dade County has established an independent review panel to investigative complaints against the police, the panel lacks resources and has no subpoena power. The proportion of black youth in the Miami juvenile justice system is more than three times as great as in the county population, and services for rehabilitation are grossly inadequate. Recommendations for juvenile justice focus on efforts to identify youth at-risk, the expansion of juvenile group homes, and more intensive individual and family counseling. Recommendations for the administration of justice include the establishment of a committee to identify racially discriminatory policies and correct them, institution of procedures that will result in racially diverse juries, increased efforts to hire black police officers, and improved police training programs. A total of 210 footnotes are provided.