Over the years, reformers have focused on different issues in the juvenile justice system. During the 1960s and early 1970s, advocates pushed for due-process rights for juveniles. The U.S. Supreme Court responded with its Gault decision, which declared juveniles did have these rights. Subsequent court decisions and much state legislation have further defined juveniles' rights.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, reformers turned their focus on detention issues, particularly on restricting who could be in secure lockups. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act of 1974 and its subsequent amendments achieved two major reforms of detention. It outlawed placing status offenders in secure detention, and it mandated separate facilities for adults and juveniles. From the late 1970s to the present, the public in many states has called for getting tough on juvenile offenders. Some jurisdictions have resisted. Many states, however, have locked up juveniles in record numbers. Even in periods when the juvenile arrest rate for violent crimes dropped, the incarceration rate climbed. In the wake of highly publicized, violent juvenile crimes, many have called for even harsher sentences on juveniles. Princeton Professor John DiIluio once warned of a "rising wave of superpredators," caused by the growing teen population. Shay Bilchik, former head of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, dismissed the idea of a growing number of superpredators. "For starters, only about one-half of 1 percent of juveniles ages 10 to 17 were arrested for a violent crime last year, and of all juvenile offenders, just 6 to 8 percent are serious, violent, or chronic offenders. So to talk of a generation of superpredators is not only false but unfair." Bilchik and others believe that getting tough has not and will not prevent violent crimes. They urge a return to the traditional model of rehabilitation for juvenile offenders.
The high detention rates have given rise to another controversy. Today, the overwhelming majority of juveniles in detention are minorities. Although African-Americans constitute only 15 percent of juveniles aged 10–17, they make up about 40 percent of the juveniles in custody. Only 37 percent of those in custody are white. Blacks do not commit more crimes than whites. The number of whites arrested far surpasses the number of blacks arrested. But as they make their way through the juvenile justice system, blacks tend to stay in the system and end up in custody. Whites tend to get out of the system and not be placed in custody. In fact, minority youth make up almost 70 percent of those in secure detention. So the controversy arises: Does the juvenile justice system unfairly discriminate against minorities, particularly African-American youths?
Many experts believe that racial discrimination does not cause black youth to remain longer in the system. They point to two separate studies which have shown that black judges are more likely than white judges to keep a black juvenile in custody. They believe that social class rather than race explains why blacks stay in the system. Most of the blacks caught in the system come from poor inner-city neighborhoods. Most of the whites come from a middle-class background. If a middle-class white juvenile gets into trouble, the parents may get a lawyer and a psychologist to help. They will come to court with a plan of action. On the other hand, an inner-city juvenile may only have an overworked public defender, who probably will meet the juvenile just before the hearing. This juvenile has limited access to social services, community agencies, or psychologists. And the juvenile's neighborhood may be filled with gangs and drug traffickers. What is the best interest of each child? Given each juvenile's resources, a judge might find it better to let the middle-class juvenile stay at home and better to send the inner-city offender to a detention facility that offers some social services. So social class rather than race may explain the different treatment of whites and blacks.
Other experts disagree. They say that while class may account for some of the disparity, racism also plays a role. The juvenile justice system allows decision makers wide discretion at every stage of the juvenile justice process. Racism, they argue, can easily creep into such a system.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention commissioned a project to examine all the existing research about race in the juvenile justice system. In 1992, the project issued a report concluding that "there is substantial support for the statement that there are race effects in operation within the juvenile justice system, both direct and indirect in nature." By "race effects," the project meant that race explains why blacks remain in the system.
In 1989, Congress amended the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act. It required states to examine why so many minorities were in their lockups. States must justify any over-representation of minorities at every stage of their juvenile justice systems. In 1992, Congress further amended the act tying funding to compliance. Since then, about 40 states have started intervention and prevention programs aimed at helping youth who are at risk of engaging in crime.
For Discussion
Do you think the juvenile justice system should focus on rehabilitation or punishment? Why? How do you account for the great number of minority youth in detention? What do you think can be done about it? Explain.
From: Criminal Justice in America, Copyright 2000 Constitutional Rights Foundation (Los Angeles).
Focus Question
Should Illinois be compelled by the federal government to justify any over-representation of minorities at every stage of their juvenile justice systems or lose federal funding for its youth programs?
Activity
Distribute to each student 4D, "Juvenile Justice: Current Trends and Controversies." Ask everyone in pairs or small groups. Have groups report out to check for understanding. Explain that the policy above is one proposed response to the problem of disproportionate minority contact among juveniles. Distribute 1B, "G R A D E." Ask students, in teams or in pairs, to assess the policy based on their reading of "The Color of Justice" and using G R A D E. Ask groups to report out on the different components of the grade instrument.
To conclude, have the class divide into supporters and opponents of the policy. Ask each group to create a report (not more than 250 words) of recommendations on the proposal. The class report will include both majority and minority recommendations and not exceed 500 words.
Last updated: February 15, 2002
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