[news] The New American Apartheid (Part III)

[Resist!ca]

The New American Apartheid Part III by Randall Shelden and William B. Brown; 
http://www.sheldensays.com/; June 22, 2004   Jailing Minority Kids Growing 
numbers of African-American youths are finding themselves within the juvenile 
justice system.  They are more likely to be detained, more likely to have 
their cases petitioned to go before a judge, more likely to be waived to the 
adult system and more likely to be institutionalized than their white 
counterparts. As noted in several studies, black youths are more likely to be 
detained than white youths, regardless of offense charged. Indeed, according to 
2001 official data, no matter what the most serious offense charged happens to 
be, black and Latino youths are far more likely to be detained that whites. 
 For blacks, the detention rate for all offenses is about five times that 
of whites and about double that for Latinos.  For index crimes against the 
person, the black detention rate is just over 5 times greater than whites, 
while the Latino rate is about 2 and one-half times as great.  The rate 
difference is the greatest for those charged with drug offenses: black youths 
are seven times more likely to be detained than white youths.  The 
importance of being detained cannot be denied, for studies have shown that 
those who are detained are far more likely to receive the most severe final 
disposition.  This last point is further underscored by commitment rates 
to youth prisons (2001 data).

URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/7/5/43511/45309