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African-American Youth in The Juvenile Justice System

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Work<strong>in</strong>g with Police<br />

<strong>The</strong> OJJDP data over the last 20 years clearly shows arrests have the largest level of<br />

m<strong>in</strong>ority overrepresentation, however OJJDP formula grants don't affect police<br />

departments because they are funded through other sources that don't have DMC<br />

components. A local police department doesn't have as much <strong>in</strong>centive to work on DMC<br />

reduction efforts as other entities that get OJJDP formula grants, experts say.<br />

It's often difficult for states to build relationships and work with police departments to<br />

ga<strong>in</strong> enough trust to allow them to go <strong>in</strong> and study the issue, said Michael J. Leiber, a<br />

crim<strong>in</strong>ology professor at the University of South Florida and the former chair of Iowa’s<br />

DMC Committee. That's why many of the studies of the DMC mandate have not<br />

<strong>in</strong>cluded police and focus <strong>in</strong>stead on the courts, he added.<br />

"It's up to the police to say I'll let you <strong>in</strong>," Leiber said. "I'm not defend<strong>in</strong>g the police, but<br />

they are jumped on all the time for police brutality and racial profil<strong>in</strong>g. <strong>The</strong>y're sensitive<br />

about people com<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> to study them and feel they would be attacked. For a researcher<br />

to get <strong>in</strong> is very difficult."<br />

OJJDP has recognized that there is a need to focus on the front part of the system,<br />

DMC Coord<strong>in</strong>ator Coleman said. It was only until 2002, when the law was broadened to<br />

disproportionate m<strong>in</strong>ority contact, that OJJDP was able to legally address arrests, she<br />

added. Prior to that their efforts were focused on correctional facilities.<br />

Coleman cites an example <strong>in</strong> Connecticut where the state has looked at DMC arrests<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce 2005 and developed a tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g curriculum for patrol officers. Police departments<br />

who sent officers to get certified <strong>in</strong> the tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g would then be eligible to apply for OJJDP<br />

formula grants for police and youth community service projects. <strong>The</strong> state has seen a<br />

40 percent reduction <strong>in</strong> black youth arrests s<strong>in</strong>ce 2006, she said.<br />

"It's only been <strong>in</strong> probably the last three years that states have really started to<br />

concentrate look<strong>in</strong>g at disproportionality <strong>in</strong> arrests," Coleman said. "I th<strong>in</strong>k over the next<br />

several years, we'll start to see those numbers come down at the front part of the<br />

system. "It's impossible to know the exact amount of government funds that have gone<br />

toward reduc<strong>in</strong>g DMC s<strong>in</strong>ce 1988 because address<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>ority contact is only one of<br />

four criteria that states must comply with when vy<strong>in</strong>g for formula grants. What's more,<br />

once states receive the grant, it's up to them to determ<strong>in</strong>e how much is spent on DMC<br />

reduction efforts.<br />

Page 42 of 114

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