NCJ Number
201335
Date Published
June 2001
Length
150 pages
Annotation
After a 1993 study that assessed minority overrepresentation in Connecticut's juvenile justice system, the State's Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC) developed recommendations to be implemented by State, local, and private agencies for the purpose of reducing minority overrepresentation; the study was repeated in 1999 to determine whether any changes had occurred; this is a report on the findings of this reassessment.
Abstract
The reassessment study focused on the extent to which minorities were overrepresented in the juvenile justice system and whether the level or nature of minority overrepresentation had changed since the baseline study. Attention was given to the specific measures adopted since the baseline study and their impact on biased decisionmaking vis-a-vis the race/ethnicity of juveniles. The study compared State juvenile justice system data to census data to determine the extent to which minority juveniles 10-16 years old were overrepresented at various stages in the juvenile justice system. Overrepresentation data were compared for 1998 and 1991. In addition, data from police, Juvenile Matters Court, Department of Children and Families, and adult court were analyzed to determine what differences, if any, existed in decisions made for Black, Hispanic, and White juveniles processed for similar types of offenses as they moved through the system. The data were also analyzed to determine whether observed differences remained when controlling for offender and offense characteristics or were neutralized by predictor variables. Indepth, one-on-one interviews were conducted with a sample of Black, Hispanic, and White juvenile offenders to explore their experiences with and perceptions of the various components of the juvenile justice system. Finally, qualitative and quantitative research was used to determine juvenile justice system practitioner reaction to findings from the other three phases and to preliminary JJAC recommendations to address these findings. For both 1998 and 1991, Black and Hispanic juveniles were overrepresented at each decision point, and the extent of the overrepresentation increased as juveniles moved from court referral to confinement. For both 1998 and 1991, overrepresentation was greater for Black than Hispanic juveniles at each decisionmaking point, particularly detention. The extent of overrepresentation in 1998 was less than in 1991, but was still considerable. JJAC recommendations for action are in three categories: accountability, personnel, and program. Specific decision points are addressed. Extensive tables and figures, 8 references, and appended details on study methodology