INNER-CITY YOUTH, THE POLICE, THE JUVENILE COURT AND JUSTICE (FROM CRIME AND JUSTICE, 1970-1971, 1972, BY J SUSMAN - SEE NCJ-27315)

• NCJ Number: 27329
• Author(s): T N FERDINAND; E G LUCHTERHAND
• Date Published: 1972
• Length: 18 pages
• Corporate Author: AMS Press, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

STUDY TO DETERMINE IF THE POLICE AND THE COURTS ARE INFLUENCED IN THEIR TREATMENT OF BLACK YOUTHS BY PERCEPTION OF THEIR ATTITUDES AND BACKGROUNDS.

Abstract

INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED FROM OFFICIAL POLICE AND COURT RECORDS AS WELL AS AN ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR OF A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 1,525 TEENAGERS IN SIX INNER-CITY NEIGHBORHOODS IN 1964 BY USE OF INTERVIEWS AND QUESTIONNAIRES. THE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS, VALUES, AND ATTITUDES OF WHITE AND BLACK TEENAGERS IN RELATION TO THEIR TREATMENT AT THE HANDS OF POLICE AND THE JUVENILE COURT WERE ASSESSED. EXAMINATION OF STATISTICS ON POLICE DISPOSITION OF FIRST OFFENDERS BY RACE REVEALS THAT BLACK TEENAGERS WERE LABELED AS DELINQUENT BY POLICE AND REFERRED TO JUVENILE COURT DISPROPORTIONATELY MORE OFTEN THAN THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS. THIS IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE APPLICATION OF MORE RIGOROUS STANDARDS TO BLACK OFFENDERS BY A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE POLICE FORCE THROUGH LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF AND EXPERIENCE WITH BLACK CULTURE. A SUGGESTION IS MADE TO RECRUIT PROPORTIONATELY AS MANY BLACK OFFICERS AS BLACKS APPEAR AMONG DELINQUENTS.