The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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I think they have a lack of respect for the system because they feel it is
discriminatory.
I think they are more suspicious of authority. I think they appear to be less
cooperative, and yeah, I think they come more with an attitude. I think
they look at us, another facet of the system. Looking at us, here just one
more thing that is either going to not help us or is going to abuse us or
mistreat us. I think that trust, at whatever other level, I think we look all
about the same type of thing to the people who come to us. I think the
parents’ attitudes have an awful lot to do with how the kids are going to
behave.
Interestingly, when attitude is considered, the parent’s attitude is often believed
more important than the child’s because it is seen as an indication of the family’s
willingness to cooperate.
Their parents are the biggest impediment, I think because the kid who
make it are the kids who have parents who love them and are supportive
and are not just trying to cover up and minimize.
Some decision makers did not necessarily see black families as less cooperative.
However, these individuals believed that blacks often either expect the system to do
nothing or do everything. In response to the question, “Are minorities less cooperative
than whites”, the following statements highlight this view.
We are making a horrendous generalization, no. If you brought out all of
the kids that are on probation and said pick out the cooperative ones
versus the uncooperative ones, you would have a higher percentage of
blacks because there are more here, but I don’t think so.