NCJ Number
96628
Date Published
1981
Length
70 pages
Annotation
This summary of a 1981 study contains an overview of the characteristics of Florida's Hispanic population and recommendations to improve the criminal justice system's response to the needs and interests of Hispanics.
Abstract
Hispanics constitute about 10 percent of Florida's population, but are concentrated in the urban counties of Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, and Orange. This report focuses on Dade County -- which contains approximately 78 percent of the State's Hispanics, largely Cuban-Americans. The summary considers the occupational and residential patterns of this group and public opinion blaming Hispanics for crime increases, emphasizing that Hispanics are not the most criminally victimized nor the most offense-prone segment of the population. The report presents several recommendations to improve the delivery of criminal justice services to Hispanics, including bilingual staff in all justice agencies, a bilingual information campaign, more precise reporting practices, drug abuse programs, and victim services. The study also recommends additional funding for the State Commission on Hispanic Affairs, recruitment of Hispanics into criminal justice and support agencies, and involvement of Hispanic communities in crime control. Other recommendations address data collection, the refugee problem, discriminatory treatment of Hispanics by courts, violent crime, training, and research priorities.