Gabbidon and Greene candidly and comprehensively address the factors that account for the disproportionate representation of the minority youths in the American juvenile system. They address the real issues confronting the American juvenile justice system and the American society in general. Although minority youth makeup only a third of the American juvenile population, they contribute two-thirds of the juvenile detention population. The factors that account for DMC are compound and multifaceted making it hard to resolve the issues.
Racial and ethnic stereotypes are the major factors that account for DMC. White Americans associate black Americans with hard crimes and possession of deadly weapons. Black teens in detention are twice the number of white teens. They perceive the blacks as criminals by the mere fact that they are black. For instance, black teens are overrepresented in homicide, nonlethal violence, drug abuse violations, and weapons violation. According to Gabbidon and Greene, “Indeed, if someone says that they were mugged or that their house was robbed, most white people instantly picture an African American man as a criminal. When an African-American man approaches us on the street, we cower”(Gabbidon, & Greene, 2013). This suggests unconscious or conscious racism that seems to be deeply engraved in the minds of the Americans. Additionally, judges and police officers share this insolence and are prospective of seeing a criminal in the courtroom or on the highway if they see a black American. Additionally, probation officers interrogate Hispanics and blacks with an aim of proving that they are criminals rather than establishing the real facts of the case.
Poverty also accounts for DMC. There is enough evidence to suggest that the income levels of the Americans are varying. There is a significant gap between the affluence of minority families and White families within the U.S. the average wealth of the whites is 20 times more than that of the blacks. This implies that most blacks and Hispanics live in poor estates prone to crimes (Gabbidon, & Greene, 2013). Social recidivism is also high as teenagers in poor families struggle to survive, have no inadequate healthcare, are exposed to drugs and weapons, and the social amenities such as schools are poor and unable to bring up a morally upright teen. In the juvenile courts, the poor teenagers are unlikely to obtain a fair hearing and end up being detained.
Moreover, there are legislative policies that disparately impact youth of color thus becoming an important variable affection for DMC. Though the juvenile system is supposed to act freely and fairly, it habitually makes policies that are aimed at oppressing the minority. The number of youths of color in detention, therefore, escalates.
Media’s exposure of crime has also overemphasized on some certain delinquencies committed by certain groups of Americans. The media misrepresent the majority based on skin color, real and perceived status within the society, language, and country of origin (Gabbidon, & Greene, 2013). They are made to appear as criminals and the public believe that it's normal for certain groups to commit certain crimes. The authors describe “justice by geography” implying that once place of residence has a substantial effect on their criminal record.
These factors account for the DMC with a high degree of certainty. Efforts to lessen DMC are handicapped by the state’s lack of the ability to expansively and consistently gather and scrutinize data spawned throughout the juvenile system. Racial predisposition, ethnicity, poverty, and prejudice media coverage of crimes continue to upsurge DMC.
References
Gabbidon, S. L., & Greene, H. T. (2013). Race, Crime, and Justice: A Reader. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
