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The Statistics

Statewide and nationally, a disproportionate number of minority youth are arrested, arraigned, convicted and incarcerated in juvenile and adult facilities throughout the U.S. and the Commonwealth.

Minority Youth in the System

• The proportion of minority youth receiving adult penalties was 5 times more than their proportion in the general court population in Massachusetts; the rates ranged from 1.3 to 5.3 in states across the country.
• In Massachusetts, the custody rates of minority youth per 100,000 juveniles was 96 for whites, 804 for African Americans, 582 for Latino, 224 for Asians and 70 for Native Americans.
• As juvenile crime has decreased to 1993 levels in Massachusetts, the total DYS committed population has grown by 97.4% since January 1992, from 1,579 to 3, 117 as of August of 1999.
• The more restrictive the confinement, the greater the disproportionate representation of children of color.
• An African American male born in 1991 has a 1 in 3 chance of spending time in prison at some point in his life; an Hispanic male born in 1991 has a 1 in 6 chance of spending time in prison.
• One of the leading indicators of future court involvement for a juvenile is a parent who spent time in prison. The population of prisoners of color is disproportionate to their proportion in the general population: nationally, African American men were incarcerated at 6.6 times the rate of white men.
• Minority and white youth perceive racial disparities in treatment in all components of the juvenile justice system especially with respect to en- counters with the police, which is the "crucial stage that fuels disproportionately the rest of the system."
• There are more African American males under supervision than there are in college; for every one young African American male who graduates from college, 100 are arrested.
• Nationally, in 1996, 27% of cases involving black youth were detained prior to disposition compared to 14% of white youth; in every offense category , black youth were more likely to be detained.
• In Massachusetts, of the youth who have been indicted since the Youthful Offender law went into effect in 1996, 70% have had their cases adjudicated, 12% received adult sentences, 52% were committed to DYS to age 21, 10% were committed to DYS to age 21 with a suspended adult sentence over their heads.