NCJ Number
93265
Date Published
1984
Length
100 pages
Annotation
The findings of this study indicate that race plays an important role in decisionmaking at each point in the juvenile judicial system and that there are also racial differences for the type of offenses committed and for prior delinquency.
Abstract
The study investigated the empirical evidence of racial differentials by employing appropriate conceptualization of juvenile court decisionmaking and appropriate data analysis techniques. Study data consist of over 69,000 detailed juvenile case history records from 1979 for 6 States and 4 jurisdictions. Researchers used the variables of disposition, manner of handling, detention decision, prior record, and offense in testing their model. The hypothesis is that black juveniles receive harsher treatment from beginning to end of the process. The results suggest that more attention should be focused on the behavior and attitudes of those who administer the juvenile justice system. The racism found in society at large seems to pervade the system at every level examined. To ensure fair treatment to black juvenile offenders, officials in the system must become sensitive to the harm they can cause and must learn about cultural differences in order to be objective when assessing a youngster's situation. Twenty-four references and 29 tables are included. Appendixes discuss frequencies for the total sample, and the variable recoding scheme, and present additional tables.