The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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I think there are a number of things that one could consider as contributing
factors. The kid admitting the offense or not, the kid’s cooperativeness, the
family’s cooperativeness.
Q. So, you think that varies on a black and white basis
A. Yeah. I would have to say that I have a number of black kids on my
case load that come in on offenses that shouldn’t be a big deal but they
end up being a really big deal because the kids don’t come in for
appointments, they don’t do their community service, they don’t go to
school, they don’t do that and when you don’t have the family or their
support.. .and because of the probation violations, not really the crime,
because they don’t do what is expected of them, they end up going away.
A number of blacks tend to not be real time oriented, whites tend to be
more so. Blacks may come in for their appointment a day late or a week
late and it is no big deal.
They might receive less family pressure to get this thing cleared up. I think
that a white family probably wants to keep their kid out of the court
system. I think that is a big value to them and they will do stuff to keep the
kid out whereas I don’t think that a black family gives it that much weight.
If it is a single parent black family and this is the fourth kid, what is it
going to affect. So, again, it sounds racist but the economics and the social
outlook of the family, I think it has a lot to do with whether or not the kid
is going to admit. If my . . .year old comes in here after committing a
crime and denies it and I know that he did it we are going to go and have a
little chat and then he is going to come back in here and then he is going to
admit it. I don’t know if I would feel that way if I was a black male and
didn’t trust the system anyway and I thought my kid was getting tagged by
the police and I tended to believe him over the rest of the world then I
probably wouldn’t even if I knew that he did it.. .So, I think that who
brings the kid in and what their receptiveness is and their perception of the
system has a lot to do with it and whether or not the kid admits has a lot to
do with whether or not they will give an informal.