Minorities in Criminal Justice
Is Minorities Overrepresented In the Criminal Justice System?
Now you just ask me if I feel that minorities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system because of prejudices within the system, once I finish writing this paper you will have your answer. This question has been studied and debated for decades and still people in higher power are afraid to come to a conclusion because of certain circumstances. Yet, like racial differences in our society in general, the problem persists, and the reasons for the continued disparity seem to be as complex as the solutions are illusive. Overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system, especially among those in secure confinement, has been a particularly troubling phenomenon. I read according the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), minorities in 1997 accounted for about one-third of juveniles in the general population but about two-thirds of juveniles held in secure detention facilities (Daniel Dighton, 2003).
Most of my information came from Mr. Dighton, like I thought Texas had the highest minorities in jail out of any state no matter the year but I was wrong according to Mr. Dighton it was the state of Illinois. In Illinois, minorities make up a little more than a third of the juvenile population, but account for more than three-fourths of the juveniles held in secure detention. When it comes to the transfer of juveniles to adult criminal court, the numbers are even more extreme, particularly in Cook County, where minorities account for nearly all of the transfers. Also in May 2000, Illinois was singled out for having a higher rate of black male drug offenders admitted to prison than any other state. The same report found that Illinois was second only to Maryland in the percentage of black admissions to prison, with 74 percent of admissions being African Americans. They acted like blacks was the only race out there committing crimes and selling drugs, If you don’t
Now you just ask me if I feel that minorities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system because of prejudices within the system, once I finish writing this paper you will have your answer. This question has been studied and debated for decades and still people in higher power are afraid to come to a conclusion because of certain circumstances. Yet, like racial differences in our society in general, the problem persists, and the reasons for the continued disparity seem to be as complex as the solutions are illusive. Overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system, especially among those in secure confinement, has been a particularly troubling phenomenon. I read according the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), minorities in 1997 accounted for about one-third of juveniles in the general population but about two-thirds of juveniles held in secure detention facilities (Daniel Dighton, 2003).
Most of my information came from Mr. Dighton, like I thought Texas had the highest minorities in jail out of any state no matter the year but I was wrong according to Mr. Dighton it was the state of Illinois. In Illinois, minorities make up a little more than a third of the juvenile population, but account for more than three-fourths of the juveniles held in secure detention. When it comes to the transfer of juveniles to adult criminal court, the numbers are even more extreme, particularly in Cook County, where minorities account for nearly all of the transfers. Also in May 2000, Illinois was singled out for having a higher rate of black male drug offenders admitted to prison than any other state. The same report found that Illinois was second only to Maryland in the percentage of black admissions to prison, with 74 percent of admissions being African Americans. They acted like blacks was the only race out there committing crimes and selling drugs, If you don’t
References: Daniel Dighton, 2003, The Complier, Minority overrepresentation in the criminal and juvenile justice systems