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Unequal Treatment of Minority Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
CJJ believes that all children deserve to be treated fairly – regardless of race, ethnicity or other factors.
Youth of color receive harsher sanctions than their white counterparts at every stage of the juvenile court system, from the point of surveillance (including racial profiling) to disposition/trial, sentencing and incarceration. Youth of color comprise more than two-thirds of the juveniles held in confinement, but less than one-third of the U.S. youth population.
African American youth are six times more likely to be locked up for person offenses and nine times more likely to be locked up for violent offenses as compared with white youth charged with the same types of offenses. Latino youth represent approximately 12% of the U.S. population, yet 15% of the youth population sentenced to adult prisons. Such inequalities are startling, prevalent and well documented.
CJJ urges policy makers to craft solutions that motivate police, officers of the court and correctional providers to ensure unbiased and rehabilitative treatment of all youth who come into contact with the justice system.
See all positions.
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