SystemStats [1999 : fall]

O' O' O' North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Center Governor’s Crime Commission Disproportionate Minority Overrepresentation in North Carolina’s Juvenile Justice System Introduction There have been several research studies that have explored the problem of minority overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. Minority overrepresentation occurs when a disproportionately large number of minority youth come into contact with thejuvenile justice system in relation to their repre¬ sentation in the general population. The groups that are defined as minorities are African American, Native American, Asian American, Pacific Islanders, His¬ panic/Latinos, or any other non-Caucasian group. The following is a list of some of the key factors identified from previous research that may lead to disproportionate minority confinement in thejuvenile justice system: The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP, 1 990) discovered that minority youths were more likely than non-minority youths to be formally processed and held in detention. A study in Ohio revealed that in decisions leading to confinement, more than 55% of all juveniles detained prior to adjudication were minorities and 60% of all juveniles receiving a disposition to confinement were minorities (Dunn et. al, 1993). Socioeconomic status, as well as family back¬ ground, consistently plays a role in minority overrepresentation (Kurtz, Giddings, and Sutphen, 1993). Urbanization tends to increase the imprisonment risk of minorities, especially for blacks, while decreasing the probability of imprisonment for whites (Myers and Talarico, 1996). Studies show that minorities, particularly black males, commit serious and violent crimes at significantly higher rates than white males (Bridges and Beretta, 1994). Lack of adequate diversion programs, lack of culturally appropriate services, and perceived barriers to parental advocacy may lead to minority overrepresentation. In 1 988, the Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act required all states to conduct studies to determine whether minority youth were being confined in numbers greater than their represen¬ tation in the general youth population. Furthermore, states are required to seek remedies if overrepresentation exists, in accordance with this mandate. North Carolina conducted two studies, in 1990 and 1994, to determine if minority overrepresentation was apparent in arrests, detention school, and training school admission rates. Both studies revealed minority overrepresentation in all three of these areas. This SystemStats will present findings from a recent study that examined if minority overrepresentation in the areas of arrest rates, deten¬ tion admissions, and training school admissions have increased or decreased since 1990 and 1994. Itwillalso test the following hypotheses: Hypothesis I: Districts with numerous alternative programs will have lower minority detention and training school overrepresentation than those districts with minimal or no alternative programs. Hypothesis 2: Minority juveniles are arrested for serious and violent crimes at higher rates than white juveniles, which may lead to minority overrepresentation. Hypothesis 3: Counties classified as urban tend to have higher minority juvenile arrests, detention, and training school overrepresentation rates than those counties classified as rural.