RACE AND ETHNICITY OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS

Race and Ethnicity of Juvenile Offenders

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Thesis Statement3

Discussion3

Patterns and Trends4

Criminal Justice System and Race & Ethnicity Of Juvenile Offenders5

Law Enforcement6

The Court System6

Prisons7

Public Policy7

Explanations8

Youth Offender Programs8

Conclusion10

References11

Race and Ethnicity of Juvenile Offenders

Introduction

Scholars and professionals, tend to focus their attention on the specific parts of criminal justice system, but it is important for the observer to understand that no component of the criminal justice system exists in a vacuum anymore than a racial or ethnic group of juvenile offenders lives in isolation from other people. To understand a given part of the system, we must understand how it relates to the internal and external environment. This paper discusses the issues of with respect to race and ethnicity of juvenile offenders.

Thesis Statement

Race relations, ethnic discrimination, and racism with Juvenile Offenders have been neglected by most social scientists until recently.

Discussion

When youths are taken into custody by the police, their cases are routinely referred to a juvenile court, a legal system specifically designed to deal with minors. Roughly 2 million cases are processed through American juvenile courts each year. The court usually assigns a juvenile probation officer to investigate referrals and to conduct a social history. When the conduct is less serious, the probation officer may initiate an informal adjustment in a case. This may involve issuing a stern warning of future consequences and a recommendation that the juvenile receive educational or mental health services. When the conduct is more serious, a prosecutor may file a petition requesting a fact-finding hearing. If the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent, then a dispositional hearing is held. (Pope 2000)

Among the most common dispositions are court-ordered probation, counseling, and community service. Placement in a nonsecure shelter facility, a shock "boot camp" program, or a secure training school are other options. In the late 1990s more than 100,000 youths were in public or private facilities of this nature. Compared with adult criminal court, the juvenile court is routinely closed to the public, more informal and familial, and more concerned with individual needs and treatment, though a trend toward harsher and more punitive sentences has developed. (Bishop 2008)

Patterns and Trends

Juveniles are more frequently involved in property crimes and in drug-law violations than in violent crimes.Youths under age 18 account for a disproportional percentage of all arrests for property crimes, especially motor-vehicle theft, vandalism, arson, burglary, and larceny. More juveniles are arrested for larceny than for any other offense, as listed in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). Data on self-reported delinquent behavior show a consistent decline in illicit drug use throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. However, beginning about 1994, increases occurred in the use of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and various hallucinogens, especially by high school seniors. Still, marijuana remains the most popular illicit drug among juveniles. (Bishop 2006)

Starting about 1985, the arrest rate among juveniles for violent crimes, especially murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, serious assault, and weapons violations, increased sharply. In particular, the arrest rate for murder among juveniles ...