The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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get to associate with kids and help them because I know what they are going through.”
Those youth who did not desire to be a probation officer said the following.
No, it’s just not my type of thing to do. I don’t see how they can deal with
other people’s problems, and then go home to their families and then deal
with their own problems. It’s like you have to lead two different lives.
Shut everything out when you go home. I wouldn’t be able to do that.
Nope, cause I don’t like the field, I’ve had too many years of counseling.
Problems in the System
The final question addressed in this section focused on what problems the youth
saw with the juvenile justice system. Several different answers and view points emerged.
The majority of youth discussed problems with fairness and being too strict with young
children. Some black youth also believed there is too much of an emphasis on removing
the child from his or her home.
Sometimes it isn’t fair because my first offense because it was just a little
fist fight and I got put here for about three weeks.
I think that sometimes they don’t treat everybody the same. Like when a
case is the same they might give somebody more time than the other
people. Like when two people go into court for the same thing they may
give one more time than somebody else.
They send too many people away because they think they have family
problems and they really don’t know.
White