The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

Charter Nine
Adult Decision Makers in Scott County
There were twelve juvenile court officers, one judge, and one referee interviewed
in Scott County. The demographics for these individuals are presented in Table 1 at the
end of the chapter. Of the 14 decision makers, 7 are male and 7 are female. All 14 are
white. The mean age of the personnel was 41. The mean time on the job was 12 years.
Through the self—reports and interviews, the overwhelming theme that emerged
was that of rehabilitation, although holding youth accountable while adhering to the
standards set forth by law were also important. The juvenile justice personnel stressed the
fact that socioeconomic conditions play an important role in delinquent activity. Due to
the importance of socioeconomic factors, blacks are generally believed to commit more
crime, since they are more often in the lower socioeconomic groups than whites. Blacks
are also believed to be more distrustful of the juvenile justice system due to past
experiences and subcultural values. The decision makers were reluctant to place blame
for race differences anywhere in the system, but most agreed that the arrest stage (police)
was the most likely stage for race bias to occur.
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