Inequality in the Juvenile Justice System

Inequality in the Juvenile Justice System

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  26%of juvenile arrests 44%of those detained 46%ofyouth sent to criminal court 58%of youth admitted to state prisons 2013ARREST RATES Source OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION for every 1,000 people arrested ages to 10 17 WHITE ARREST RATE 32.2 BLACK ARREST RATE 73.8 Source CENTER ON JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE they represent Even though African American juveniles comprise 16 percent of the youth population, — PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, 2015 The American justice system by race and by wealth. remains particularly skewed DISPARITY STARTS YOUNG DISPARITY CONTINUES... SUSPENSIONS MATTER “SENT HOME AND PUT OFF TRACK” 49%of entering high-school students with 3 suspensions drop out Source Each high-school $200,000 THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT Source DROPOUT costs society about over a lifetime Our criminal justice system ends up being a pipeline from underfunded, inadequate schools to overcrowded jails. — PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA 2015 Stereotypes are so embedded in the psyche of human beings, that those stereotypes come to play. So that when a young black kid comes into court before a white male judge, who perhaps doesn't have any experience dealing with young black males, and this black male has on baggy pants, has an attitude, may have a tattoo, immediately a picture, a mindset comes up in that judge's head. — LADORIS CORDELL former CALIFORNIA SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM in theINEQUALITY 48%of preschool children with more than one suspension are black Source JUSTICE POLICY INSTITUTE During the 2009-2010 academic year, African Americans... were 3.5x more likely to be suspended or expelled than white students made up 46% of students suspended more than once comprised only 18% of enrolled U.S. students, but accounted for 39% of all expulsions Source DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION For grades 7-12, 35% of black children were suspended or expelled at some point compared to 20% of Hispanic and 15% of white children. 35% 20% 15% Source NAACP CRIMINAL JUSTICE FACT SHEET 18% 46% BLACK HISPANIC WHITE WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE LOCKED UP? DISPARITY IS NOT ONLY ON RACIAL LINES A SEPTEMBER 2015 STUDY UNCOVERED A STARTLING GENDER AND RACIAL DISPARITY IN JUVENILE JUSTICE over the last 20 years while overall juvenile arrests and detentions declined... there is inequality across racial and ethnic lines... disparity was found in the way females were treated as opposed to males... female arrests increased 45% girls constituted of court caseloads 40% detentions jumped 40% of detained girls were locked up for status offenses or technical violations, versus 25% of boys 35% of girls were detained for weaponless, simple assault and public-order offenses, versus 12% of boys 21% black girls were 20% more likely to be detained than white girls American Indian/Alaska Native girls were 50% more likely to be detained 3.5x I was 14 years old—in handcuffs with shackles on my ankles... once at the Juvenile Detention Center, I was strip-searched. I felt like I was being punished for running away as a way to stand up for myself and to escape the sexual and physical abuse in my home that began when I was 6 years old. — TANYA ROBINSON with the NATIONAL CRITTENTON FOUNDATION Source BURNS INSTITUTE FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE FAIRNESS & EQUITY Of the 55,000 youth incarcerated in 2013, 87 percent were in for non-violent offenses Source THE SENTENCING PROJECT African American youth have higher rates of juvenile incarceration and are more likely to be sentenced to adult prison... 37% of African American juvenile cases are moved to criminal court 58% of those youths are sent to adult prisons Youth offenders serving life without parole are imprisoned in conditions that violate fundamental international human rights law and standards. — “AGAINST ALL ODDS” Human Rights Watch Report, 2012 Incarcerated youth commit suicide at a rate two to three times higher than the general population. — OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION — PATRICK MCCARTHY Annie E. Casey Foundation Leader I believe it’s long past time to close these inhumane, ineffective, wasteful factories of failure once and for all. 10% of youth confined to state-operated or state-funded juvenile corrections facilities reported sexual abuse by staff or other youth in their facilities. — BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS (BJS) A study revealed that for one-third of incarcerated youth diagnosed with depression, the depression occurred after the start of their incarceration. — JUSTICE POLICY INSTITUTE Systemic maltreatment documented in the juvenile corrections facilities of 29 states. Substantial evidence of maltreatment in three other states. — ANNIE B. CASEY FOUNDATION $80,000,000,000 THE COST FOR LOCKING UP JUVENILES AND ADULTS IS that money could... Source PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, 2015 THE COST OF INCARCERATING JUVENILES Helping children and families lead more productive lives. Finance new roads, bridges and airports; job-training programs; research and development Double the salary of every high-school teacher in America Eliminate tuition at every U.S. public college and university Provide universal preschool for every 3-year-old and 4-year- old in America IS $8 TO $21 BILLION A YEAR INCLUDING RUNNING DETENTION FACILITIES, LOST FUTURE EARNINGS, LOST TAX REVENUE AND OTHER NEGATIVE EFFECTS. Source JUSTICE POLICY INSTITUTE