The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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to and respect for middle-class standards. It is unclear if the decision makers feel the
presence of these perceived values is an adaptation to impoverished conditions or an
inherent tendency among lower class minorities.
Minorities, especially black families are believed to be more distrustful of the
system than whites and their families. Black parents are believed to be less willing to
hold youth accountable for their actions and/or encourage respect for authority. Parents
are also seen as often failing to attend scheduled meetings with decision makers which
may result in the need for further court involvement. At the same time, minority youth
are not seen as less likely to admit guilt or cooperate. Interestingly, youth argue that
juvenile court decision makers may act too quickly in wanting to remove them from what
is perceived as an inadequate home environment.
Race Differences in Processing
Some decision makers feel police may be bias towards blacks, while others
believe they are doing a fine job. Accordingly, police are perceived to be responding
where crime exists. Youth split on whether the police were fair to them. However, both
whites and blacks, especially the latter group, believe that police do not treat all people
alike. Thus, both groups of youth appear to be responding to perceptions of bias rather
than personal experiences of bias. Very few of the whites and blacks want to become
police officers.