The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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just thinks you’re never going to become what you want to be.” Another black youth felt
his probation officer only wanted to lock him up, “That’s gonna make me worse. If I get
locked up, I’m gonna come out mad as hell.”
The dominant response from the whites was that their probation officers also
treated them equally. One youth stated, “I got what I deserved to get.” Another youth
reported fair treatment through the leniency his probation officer gave him. “My offense
was pretty minor. They were a lot more lenient on me than somebody who robbed a store
or something.”
Next, youth were asked if probation officers treat all people alike. The results
from the self report data indicate a majority of the blacks feel probation officers do not
display racial or economic discrimination. Sixty-five percent felt they treat the rich and
poor equally and 78 percent felt they treat blacks and whites equally. The whites had a
stronger feeling about this as evidenced by the percent indicating equal treatment
between the rich and poor and black and white (82 percent and 87 percent respectively).
Again, the majority of both groups in the interviews agreed with the trends that
emerged from the self reports. Most of the blacks answered just “yes” or “no”. For those
few that responded “no”, the unfair treatment was believed to be for racial reasons. One
black suggested that some probation officers express some prejudice against blacks. “He
(probation officer) said before that he doesn’t like blacks.” Another black echoed a
similar sentiment, “When whites come here for a crime worse than a black, they get off
the hook and get sent home faster than a black.”