Introduction
Racial and ethnic disparities remain a serious problem for the US population. Such differences provoke unfair minority pressure and affect interpersonal relationships and social order. When racism touches upon law enforcement and other criminal justice system elements, the number of concerns grows. Individuals expect the police and courts to be just and protective, especially when actions include young people. Unfortunately, research proves that racial disparities exist in most processing stages in the juvenile justice system and the treatment of the involved youth (Robles-Ramamurthy & Watson, 2019). Despite the intention to create a perfect legal system, ignoring the facts and statistics is impossible. Today, Black youth are still more than four times more likely to be held up by the police than their White peers (Rovner, 2021). Socioeconomic factors, education quality, and employment cause institutional racism that penetrates American society and the juvenile justice system. The outcomes vary from damaged mental health to serious crimes. This essay examines the prevalence and background of racial disparities and treatment in the juvenile justice system to understand the causes and consequences and define the impact of the problem on young people.
Description and Background
In the United States, teenagers and young people have faced a critical racial discrimination problem during the last several decades. Since the middle of the 20th century, several meaningful acts have been offered to protect society against discrimination against different backgrounds, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1974, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act was enacted to support local agencies in preventing crimes and improving the juvenile justice system (Robles-Ramamurthy & Watson, 2019). At the beginning of the 21st century, important changes were offered to underline the difference between disproportionate minority confinement and disproportionate minority contact (McCoy & Pearson, 2019; Robles-Ramamurthy & Watson, 2019). This step proved that racial disparities were not properly solved, and many young people of color unequally entered the juvenile justice system compared to the Whites of the same age (McCoy & Pearson, 2019). Thus, understanding the roots of such a situation is vital for today’s population to prevent inequalities and maintain equal and fair relationships.
At this moment, there are many explanations for racial impact in the chosen system. On the one hand, McCoy and Pearson (2019) define disproportionate minority confinement and racial disparities as an attempt to show the inevitability of color-based overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. When the percentage of minority youth involved in various processing stages like arrests, referrals, diversions, probations, or courts, prevails over the general population’s percentage, the problem can no longer be ignored. On the other hand, Rovner (as cited in Hughes-Shaw et al., 2020) admits that “none of the differences are big enough to explain the differences in arrests” (para. 5). It means that racial disparity exists and worsens, particularly at the earlier stages before the placement in secure detention. Unfair treatment and punishment of minorities raise new debates because prosecutors choose harsh sentences for Black youth, and not many attorneys are ready to take Black cases.
Prevalence
One of the best ways to identify the problem of racial disparities in the juvenile justice system is to look at statistics and compare findings. Youth of color represent only 28% of the US population, but the same minority group introduces about 67% of offenders in the American system (as cited in Hughes-Shaw et al., 2020). Examining the situations as per American states, Rovner (2021) finds out that Black youth placement rates are usually higher than White rates per 100,000. The examples are as follows, California (433 Blacks and 48 Whites), Connecticut (74 Blacks and 7 Whites), and Colorado (557 Blacks and 76 Whites) (Rovner, 2021). In fact, there is no state in the country with opposite ratings. For a long period, Black young people have been poorly treated and accused of their skin color, but today, the context varies, and attention is paid to American Indians, Native Americans, Asians, and Hispanics (McCoy & Pearson, 2019). Therefore, racism in the juvenile justice system should not be treated as a Black problem only but as a severe challenge for all minorities.
Reasons
Many social and economic factors can explain increased racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. Robles-Ramamurthy and Watson (2019) say that it is still difficult to examine this type of relationship because of the conditions under which minority youth are raised. For example, the poverty rate is higher among Blacks and Hispanics than among Whites (Robles-Ramamurthy & Watson, 2019). There is also a negative connection between the juvenile justice system and an education characterized by the absence of tolerance policies in classrooms and the presence of law enforcement representatives on campus (McCoy & Pearson, 2019; Robles-Ramamurthy & Watson, 2019). Christle et al. (as cited in McCoy & Pearson, 2019) call this situation the school-to-prison pipeline when children are exposed to regular expulsions and suspensions because of behavioral problems and poor academic achievements. In other words, young people do not have enough opportunities and knowledge about how to live in an equal society.
The challenges in the child welfare system also define the differences in treating individuals from various racial groups. The main idea of this system is to investigate families and help individuals who suffer from child abuse, experience biased treatment, and need special assistance in care and safety. As soon as a child is added to the child welfare system, the chances of being in the juvenile justice system rise (McCoy & Pearson, 2019). It happens because a person observes delinquent behaviors from an early age and decides to follow such examples as the only available experience. Instead of helping young people understand the damage of their childhood traumas, the system underlines the impact of a history of abuse.
Outcomes
Until the problem of racial disparity in the juvenile justice system exists, there will always be certain outcomes that affect American youth in particular and American society in general. The predisposition of racial minorities to mental health problems can be both a cause and an outcome in the juvenile justice system discussion (McCoy & Pearson, 2019). On the one hand, mental disorders might provoke irrational behaviors and criminal thoughts in Black and Hispanic youth. Either intentionally or unintentionally, young people may commit crimes or demonstrate aggression. On the other hand, regular discourses about police treatment and fears of racial profiling, biased judgments, and arrests without evident grounds create additional risks to individuals’ mental health. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and other psychological changes are observed.
Other outcomes of racial disparity include increased social debates, conflicts between racially diverse peers, unnecessary prejudice, and further negative attitudes toward the representatives of different races. Today, some people forget how pervasive law enforcement can be in Black lives (as cited in Hughes-Shaw et al., 2020). It is not always possible or even allowed to make mistakes and believe that punishment can be avoided or fair treatment is expected. All Black children deserve the right to be innocent, but it happens only until they seem suspicious (Hughes-Shaw et al., 2020). Thus, it is hard to live in a world where racial disparity predetermines the conditions in the juvenile justice system and establishes the boundaries in human relationships.
Solutions
People need to understand that they play an important role in solving the problems of racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. In addition to properly defined policies and laws and available information resources, it is important to practice equal relationships and fair attitudes towards each other. McCoy and Pearson (2019) encourage staff development regarding cultural sensitivity and the implementation of targeted programs where interagency collaborations are explained. At this moment, there is a lack of preventive resources that could help children recognize the threats of health problems and social concerns about their criminal behaviors (Hughes-Shaw et al., 2020). Therefore, reducing the impact of racism among young people depends on the quality of research and data that citizens use every day (Robles-Ramamurthy & Watson, 2019). When people start neglecting the differences in their skin colors, they will be able to create a positive environment for raising children and reducing the number of arrests and racial profiling practices.
Conclusion
Racial disparities and unequal treatment affect the juvenile justice system and the relationships that young Americans try to develop. It is impossible to forget about the impact of racism in history and create a new society, neglecting some basic principles. However, many questions emerge when racial differences define the necessity of arresting a person or paying more attention to the behavior of one Black person over another White individual. People expect the criminal justice system can protect their rights and support their freedoms regardless of their skin color. Unfortunately, the American experience is not as positive as it should be. Young representatives of racial minorities continue reporting unfair and pointless processing stages and want to believe that one day they can forget about such a depressing black-white world.
References
Hughes-Shaw, M., Sroka, N., & Traxler, V. (2020, September 2). Youth of color disproportionately represented in the justice system. Cronkite News. Web.
McCoy, H., & Pearson, E. (2019). Racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. In C. Franklin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social work. Web.
Robles-Ramamurthy, B., & Watson, C. (2019). Examining racial disparities in juvenile justice. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 47(1), 48-52. Web.
Rovner, J. (2021). Black disparities in youth incarceration. The Sentencing Project. Web.