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The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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crime. <strong>The</strong>re are some <strong>of</strong>ficers, however, who believe that m<strong>in</strong>orities commit different<br />

types <strong>of</strong> crimes. A few juvenile court <strong>of</strong>ficers from Polk county suggest blacks are more<br />

<strong>of</strong>ten <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> drug <strong>of</strong>fenses.<br />

<strong>The</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> the crimes we see black youths gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to is usually<br />

possession with <strong>in</strong>tent to deliver narcotics, controlled substance.<br />

We get a lot <strong>of</strong> drug referrals from the police. Probably more on m<strong>in</strong>orities<br />

than we do on others.<br />

A few <strong>of</strong>ficers saw blacks as committ<strong>in</strong>g more crime than whites. Poverty <strong>in</strong> the<br />

black community was provided as an explanation for this occurrence.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re is a higher percentage <strong>of</strong> petty crimes go<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>in</strong> the lower<br />

economic areas than there are <strong>in</strong> other areas and that is probably very<br />

simply that the kids out there don’t have to shoplift because they have<br />

cash.<br />

the poverty that the m<strong>in</strong>orities live <strong>in</strong> adds to all the rest <strong>of</strong> these problems,<br />

the helplessness, the hopelessness that everyone feels and it gets<br />

perpetuated from one generation to the next. I th<strong>in</strong>k that <strong>of</strong>ten that<br />

snowballs a lot <strong>of</strong> this other stuff.<br />

A few <strong>of</strong> the juvenile court <strong>of</strong>ficers did not see any differences <strong>in</strong> either the types<br />

<strong>of</strong> crimes or <strong>in</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> crimes committed by black youth. “Black youth get caught<br />

more and turned <strong>in</strong> more but don’t necessarily commit more or more serious crimes.” On<br />

the other hand, there were a few <strong>of</strong>ficers who stated, “I believe that more blacks commit<br />

crimes and that is why there are more be<strong>in</strong>g deta<strong>in</strong>ed.” <strong>The</strong>se <strong>in</strong>dividuals deny any effects<br />

<strong>of</strong> race bias or discrim<strong>in</strong>ation as possible factors.

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