NCJ Number
158357
Date Published
1995
Length
38 pages
Annotation
Based on a 1992 study, West Virginia joined other States in acknowledging the overrepresentation of minority youth by arrest and commitment to security institutions.
Abstract
An analysis was conducted of 9,895 delinquency complaints processed by local juvenile justice systems during fiscal year 1993-1994 to assess the extent to which minority youths were arrested, diverted from the court, detained, prosecuted, adjudicated delinquent, transferred to adult court, placed on probation, and committed to different settings in West Virginia. Findings revealed the number of minority youths involved in West Virginia's juvenile justice system exceeded expectations based on the percentage of minority youth in the general population. Minority youths were associated with 15.8 percent of all juvenile arrests, a proportion 3.5 times greater than that of minority youth in the general population. Minority youth were prosecuted through formal court proceedings at a slightly higher rate than nonminority youth, and minority youth were detained in secure detention centers at more than twice the rate of nonminority youth. Minority youth were adjudicated delinquent at about the same rate as that for nonminority youth. Of all youth adjudicated delinquent for criminal offenses, minority youth were committed to the Division of Corrections at approximately twice the rate as that for nonminority youth. Most minority youths committed to the Division of Corrections were involved in serious offenses. A significant number of minority youth incarcerations was associated with drug sales. Reasons for and policy implications of the overrepresentation of minority youth in West Virginia's juvenile justice system are discussed. Footnotes, tables, and figures