11.01.2015 Views

The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Summary<br />

298<br />

In general, most <strong>of</strong> the youth knew they had done someth<strong>in</strong>g wrong and believed<br />

they were justifiably punished for their behavior. Yet, most <strong>of</strong> the youth <strong>in</strong>dicated that<br />

they were be<strong>in</strong>g picked on. <strong>The</strong>y felt that police <strong>of</strong>ficers were unfair. Both blacks and<br />

whites did not respect the police and believed they were abus<strong>in</strong>g their authority. At the<br />

same time, however, the majority <strong>of</strong> both groups held a high regard for their probation<br />

<strong>of</strong>ficers. <strong>The</strong>y apparently feel that they can communicate better with probation <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />

and that probation <strong>of</strong>ficers work more <strong>in</strong> their best <strong>in</strong>terest than do the police.<br />

Both blacks and whites recognize a great deal <strong>of</strong> racism both with<strong>in</strong> the system<br />

and <strong>in</strong> society <strong>in</strong> general. However, they tend to see racism more when it is manifested <strong>in</strong><br />

violence and not <strong>in</strong> other forms. <strong>The</strong>re were extremists <strong>in</strong> both groups who wanted<br />

noth<strong>in</strong>g to do with the other race, and yet for the most part, these youth were sensitive to<br />

racial tension and wanted to see it end. Both groups were very optimistic <strong>of</strong> a better<br />

future and seemed to be accept<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> people regardless <strong>of</strong> race.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!