NCJ Number
83890
Date Published
1982
Length
450 pages
Annotation
The report reviews the historical experience of blacks, Hispanics (Puerto Ricans, Mexican-Americans, and Cubans), American Indians, and Asian-Americans (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, and others) in the United States. It portrays the disproportionate and adverse impact of crime and the criminal justice system on these minority groups and recommends reforms.
Abstract
The legal cases of minorities are often handled by incompetent or overworked public defenders who are not minority-group members and lack bilingual skills. Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians are more likely to be victimized than whites. They are also more likely to be indicted and arrested, to be imprisoned, and to serve full terms without parole. Race is clearly an important factor in how the Nation's criminal justice system operates. Hardline incarceration is used primarily for the poor and minorities, while diversion, restitution, and other alternative programs are viewed as appropriate for whites, particularly if they are not poor. Demographic conditions that are superficially responsible for high urban crime rates will not soon disappear; perhaps one-third of the next generation of minority youth will never enter the labor force. Recommendations address both specific minority groups and such institutions as the police, criminal justice education and research, courts, corrections, and community anticrime programs. Specifically, the report recommends restructuring State and local police agencies under the control of local citizens, establishing a national data collection system to maintain current information on the status of ethnic and racial minorities in the criminal justice system, recruiting more minority-group members for jury service, and giving bicultural training courses to judges and other court personnel. Data are based on a literature review, public hearings, input from experts in the field, field studies and interviews with minority leaders and public officials, and critical analyses of criminal justice policies and programs at various governmental levels. The report includes tables, figures, case studies, and chapter notes. Supplemental materials are appended.