The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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parents, for example, using the same jargon that the kids do. They’re very
up on what the latest slang terms are. They seem to be much more
involved in their kids lives. They may not necessarily be doing activities,
but taking more of an interest involved along through the system with kids
in a lot of ways. The kids feel a lot of support, and I think mixed messages
come out that way. Parents come in and are very supportive of the child,
not of the crime. I think sometimes misinterpret that support as validation
or encouragement for committing crimes. Like, ‘see I was right,
distrusting the police and the system; so do my parents and they’re not
really that upset about me committing a crime, they’re upset about the way
I’m being mistreated by the system that’s mistreated my family too.’ I
think sometimes that does the kids a disservice when that’s the perception,
whether it’s accurate or not.
I think that with Hispanics, it’s a language thing. Many of them don’t
speak very good English and don’t understand. With blacks, I see a little
bit of attitude but I’ve never had a disrespectful black kid on my caseload
so I can’t say that I see that to be happening.
I probably have more of a conflict with some whites, I mean really for the
most part, I probably have more conflict with them than anybody else.
I think what happens with kids of color is that parents won’t cooperate.
They think that we do something just because the kid is black or whatever.
Then they have no choice because if they send the kid home they know
that the parents won’t make the child abide by the rules.
They’re alienated or feel that way, or
unfamiliar with it, or probably fearful of it. I see it in all nationalities
I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. I think a lot of
teenagers don’t know when to keep their mouths shut, no matter what
their race.