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Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality in Juvenile Justice

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Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality in Juvenile Justice

In modern society, race and ethnicity remain to be the key factors that predict the fate of

the kids who enter the juvenile justice system. As a result of this, they continue to be victims of

discrimination. As the matters of equity and neutrality are concerned, colorful and ethnic

minorities, i.e., black and Hispanic pupils, are generally captured in disproportion in the various

areas of the juvenile justice system, from arrest to sentencing. The unfairness in this treatment

originates from the presence of egregious biases in society and the lack of perception, which later

develop into racial disparities.

Among the significant reasons for racial bias in a juvenile justice system is that police

officers in minority communities often use racial profiling and over-policing. Many times,

finding criminals means conducting searches in areas where a large number of black and

Hispanic people live, which results in their non-white kids being arrested more than white kids.

The ACLU study substantiates this by revealing that blacks are arrested three times more than

whites for the same misconduct, while the statistics show that biased policing practices are a

function of race (McGlynn-Wright et al., 2020). Furthermore, while in the juvenile justice

system, minority groups have to face biases at each decision point. Black and Hispanic juveniles

are said to be more likely to be pretrial and sentenced to a harsher sentence if compared to their

white peers for similar crimes. This can be illustrated by the fact that black and Hispanic youth

are more likely to be transferred to the adult court, where they face severe punishment and

almost lifetime incarceration.

Another issue also rooted in inequalities in resources and legal representation is the unfair

treatment of ethnical and racial minorities in the juvenile justice system due to the lack of those

services. Low-income young people from minority groups are the least likely to pay for private
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lawyers. They may have to work with overworked public defenders, who are unfortunately more

likely to lack the time and resources necessary to offer appropriate representation. This way,

racial and ethnic minorities are pleading guilty to more offenses than necessary, and they are

going to jail more often than others. Moreover, the processing of judges, prosecutors, and other

collaborators by implicit bias and stereotypes offers prejudicial treatment to the minority youth

in the juvenile justice system. According to research, the more severe decision-makers view the

crime, the more likely Black and Hispanic youths will be perceived as older, more blamed, and

deserve harsher punishment, which supports Marshall's racial biases deep within the criminal

justice system.

In conclusion, race and ethnicity often go hand in hand with unfair treatment within the

judicial process, leading to disparities at all points of the system. Racial profiling, bias in

decision-making, inequities in legal representation, and systemic injustices all play a part in the

overrepresentation and harsher treatment of black and brown young people in the juvenile justice

system. Comprehensive reforms aimed at eliminating systemic bias, establishing equity in

policing and legal processes, and addressing social disparities are the only way to make the

system fair for everyone.

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Reference

McGlynn-Wright, A., Crutchfield, R. D., Skinner, M. L., & Haggerty, K. P. (2020). The Usual,

Racialized Suspects: The Consequence of Police Contacts with Black and White Youth on

Adult Arrest. Social Problems, 69(2), 299–315. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spaa042