NCJ Number
244771
Date Published
March 2013
Length
230 pages
Annotation
This study examined disproportionate minority contact (DMC) of Illinois juvenile justice professionals.
Abstract
Results indicate that youth of color were arrested 1.5 times more often than White youth despite similar offending rates. Minority youth were referred to court at a rate three times more than their White counterparts and were almost four times more often sent to secure confinement for their offenses. Relatively equal representation occurred at only one decision point; detention is the only point where a standardized, objective screening instrument guides decisionmaking. This document is divided into seven sections. Section 1 provides an overview of the issue. Section 2 provides the study's methodology. Section 3 is the summary of qualitative data for both Key Informants and Survey Respondents. Section 4 contains complete survey data tables. Section 5 provides an annotated bibliography of the scholarly literature on DMC causes and prevention. Section 6 provides a more extensive and alphabetical list of references and section7 contains appendix items. Also examined are the causes, perceptions and contributing factors to disproportionate involvement of minority youth in the juvenile justice system. Tables, references, and appendixes