Study Finds Racial Disparities In Juvenile Justice System

A new national study finds a glaring disparity between the way white and minority youth are treated by the juvenile justice system, with Wisconsin being no exception.

The report from the Sentencing project looked at 2011 data from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. It shows black youth in Wisconsin are eight times more likely to be arrested than white youth, and once arrested back youth are more than twice as likely to be jailed.

The report’s author, Josh Rovner, says this disparity doesn’t mean black youth commit more crimes. He points to national data showing black youth are five times more likely to be arrested for curfew violations.

“Is there any reason to believe that white teenagers don’t like to stay out late, or is that some sort of a policy choice?” said Rovner. “The data that we have and our own experience shows that teenagers are not behaving any differently. It’s the arrest rates that are different.”

Several Wisconsin counties are trying to reduce this disparity by using alternatives to arresting first time juvenile offenders. Jim Moeser of the Wisconsin Center on Children and Families says they’re using what are called deferred agreements.

“The kid says, ‘I won’t do any more crimes, I’ll pay the $100 back, I’ll do A,B, C,’” said Moeser. “And if there’s some issues that the kid has to deal with, he participates in a program. None of it ends up in an actual delinquency record, so it’s less destructive in the long run for the kid.”

Moeser says police are also getting new training on how to handle teenagers short of arresting them.