The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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married or nothing like that.” A white female blamed her step dad because, “he drinks too
much and every time we run out of money I consider it his fault, because we’d have
money if he didn’t drink all of the time.”
When asked whether or not they regretted committing the delinquent act, the
majority felt a sense of remorse. The blacks did not elaborate on why or why not they
regretted their actions. One white male said, “Yeah, now that I look at it, but at the time I
didn’t really care.”
Overall, both races took personal responsibility for their actions. Most youth also
indicated signs of remorse.
Summary
Both black youth and white youth feel racial discrimination is persistent and
getting worse in our society. Youth also felt that blacks were not given equal
opportunities in the workforce. Despite these feelings, all youth stated that they are
optimistic about the future and believe that people can be trusted regardless of race or
color.
The youth also expressed rather negative views toward the police. Both white
youth and black youth felt the police treat people differently according to the color of
their skin. Many of the youths felt that the police pick on blacks. Therefore, the youths
did not entirely respect or desire to be a police officer.
Even though some of the youths felt they were not treated fairly by their probation
officer, the attitudes toward probation officers were rather positive. Both races respected