The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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Race Findings Specific to Study
Decision makers were asked for their input or feelings concerning the findings
from the first phase of the research. That phase involved the recording of information
from case files on case processing and case outcomes for black youth and white youth in
Scott County.
There were many different explanations given for some of the inconsistent race or
gender effects found in the first phase of the study. The major findings of the first phase
of the study conducted in Scott County were: (1) blacks were less likely to be petitioned
than whites, (2) blacks were less likely to receive a consent decree than whites, and (3)
females were more likely to be placed outside the community than males, with all legal
and extralegal factors controlled for within the regression models.
Blacks Petitioned Less than Whites
Many of the decision makers explained why blacks were petitioned less by citing
reverse racism, or giving blacks too many “breaks” due to guilt or trying to be non—
racist. Thus, because the juvenile court personnel try harder to deal with the blacks, they
may in effect end up treating them differently. The following quotes from interviews
explain the reasons provided by the decision makers for this view.
I know that sometimes I bend over backwards to make damn sure I am not
doing anything to a kid just based on the color of his skin and maybe
sometimes I am trying to be so fair that