The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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cops. I’d rather have a white cop arrest me than a black cop cuz black cops go all out.”
There were those who felt that the police did not try to be unfair. They perceived
that police are only human and might be expected to “mess up” once in a while. As one
young black male said, “They treat people different. It’s when they got you, it depends on
what kind of mood they in.
they’re like regular people and if they are in the wrong
mood, they’re gonna get you.” There were also those who felt that police pick on
everyone regardless of race. A white youth stated, “They harass everybody if they want
to.” Another white was not sure if the police discriminate against blacks but did feel that
the police are tougher on the inner city because that is where crime occurs with greater
frequency.
Respect
Some of the black youth did not feel the police pick on blacks. For the most part,
these youth also indicated that they felt they could respect the police. Justification for this
view is illustrated in statements like: “They are only trying to do their job” or “It’s
dangerous, they have to protect themselves.” In both races there were very few youth
who felt they could respect and trust the police. Only 19 percent of the whites and 24
percent of the blacks agreed that they could respect the police. This was supported by the
interviews where not a single white youth openly declared respect for the police.
There were a number of youth in both groups, 44 percent of the whites and 21
percent of the blacks, who would neither agree nor disagree with the idea that the police
deserved respect. While there was a larger percentage of blacks than whites who felt they