Browsing Conference papers by Subject "disproportionate minority contact (DMC) with the juvenile justice system"
Now showing items 1-4 of 4
-
A Comparison by Race of Juvenile Referrals in AlaskaA data set comprised of all juveniles referred to Alaska youth corrections in the fiscal years 1992–1996 shows disproportionate referral of Alaska Native and African American youth when compared to their proportions in the general population. Minorities also appear more likely than white youth to accumulate multiple referrals. Random samples selected within each racial group are used to seek extra-legal factors which may account for some of the disparity. Information on family and home life, school, personal problems, and the details of each referrals and each referral outcome were extrapolated from the files of the sample which included 39 white youth, 35 Alaska Native youth, and 37 African American youth. Special attention was paid to youth who accumulated multiple referrals.
-
Disproportionate Detention of Minorities: A Case Study of One State's Compliance with the Mandates of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ActPursuant to Section 223(a)(23) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, states must examine whether minority youth are disproportionately detained in relation to their proportion in the general population. For a preliminary assessment of Alaska’s compliance, five and a half years of detention data (1990–June 1995) for the state of Alaska are analyzed to assess the detention of minority and non-minority youth. A number of factors are used to compare racial groups: type of offense, prior record, gender, age, length of detention, etc.
-
Disproportionate Minority Processing of Females: A Comparison of Native, Black and White JuvenilesAn examination of four years of statewide female juvenile referral data showed that Native girls are referred in disproportionate numbers and tend to have lengthier records. Underage drinking was one of the most frequent referral reasons. Because many of the Native females were from rural communities, the disproportionate referrals may be a factor of the smallness of the communities, in which misbehavior is more readily noticed. Examination of a subset of files for girls with multiple referrals showed that the actual behavior was often not particularly grave and that many of the girls with multiple referrals came from very unstable backgrounds.
-
A Preliminary Examination of Minority Referrals to the Alaska Juvenile Justice SystemThe disproportionate processing of minorities in the justice system has been noted with growing concern nationally as well as at the state level. In Alaska, as in other states, the primary basis for concern is that minorities are overrepresented among the adult prison population. The realization that this disproportionality appears in other justice system venues has led nationally to a number of research initiatives with a focus on the overrepresentation of juveniles. This paper analyzes referral data from the Alaska Division of Family and Youth Services (DFYS) for 1992–1995 to provide a statistical overview of disproportionate minority contact in the Alaska juvenile justice system, providing comparative data for referrals of Alaska Native, African American, and white youth.
