July 18, 2002
Los Angeles, CA -- Latino and Latina
youth receive disparate and more punitive treatment than their White peers
charged with the same types of offenses, according to a new report
commissioned by the Building Blocks for Youth Initiative. Available data
actually under-count disparities because most states and the federal
government fail to identify Latino youth in data collection, usually counting
them as White.
Latino youth are more likely to be
incarcerated than White youth charged with the same offenses. For youth
charged with drug offenses, the incarceration rate for Latino youth was 13
times the rate for White youth. Latino youth charged with violent offenses
were five times as likely to be incarcerated as White youth similarly charged.
According to Human Rights Watch research, Latino youth are incarcerated at
higher rates than Whites in 46 of the 50 states.
The report, “¿Dónde Está la Justicia? A
Call to Action on Behalf of Latino and Latina Youth in the U.S. Justice
System,” was commissioned by the Building Blocks for Youth Initiative, a
national campaign to promote a fair and effective youth justice system and was
prepared by the Institute for Children, Youth and Families at Michigan State
University, in consultation with a number of national and grassroots Latino
groups.
“The discrepancies in the way Latino
children and youth are treated by the justice system in this country are
extremely troubling. We have to change our priorities from confining more and
more children in California Youth Authority to making preventive investments
in all our children,” stated Deena Lahn, Director of Children’s Defense
Fund - California.
Initial disparities that occur at arrest are
compounded by later disparities, resulting in a “cumulative disadvantage”
for Latino youth. For example, in Los Angeles in 1996-1998, Latino youth were
arrested 2.3 times as often as White youth; prosecuted 2.4 times as often as
White youth, and imprisoned 7.3 times as often as White youth. Consequently,
the average length of incarceration is much longer for Latino youth than White
youth, even when charged with the same offense. Latino youth charged with drug
offenses were incarcerated for more than 5 months longer than White youth,
almost 5 months longer for violent offenses, 1 month longer for property
offenses.
In addition to suffering higher rates of
confinement and longer periods of incarceration, Latino youth face specific
barriers in the justice system. Lack of bilingual and culturally competent
staff can result in harsher treatment, and profound confusion and frustration
for youth and families who speak only Spanish or who have limited English
proficiency. On any given day, 5,000 Latino youth are held by the Immigration
and Naturalization Service, often under punitive conditions, though in most
instances they are not charged with any crime other than being in the United
States without proper documentation. Anti-gang statutes in many states impose
dramatically higher penalties on youth who police or courts believe are gang
members, although such beliefs are often based on stereotypes about Latino
youth.
While available data show that Latino youth
receive harsher treatment than White youth, current data collection methods
mask the full magnitude of the problem. Many states and the federal government
ask only one question about race and ethnicity of youth in the system, and the
choices are “White,” “African-American,” “and “Other” (or “Asian”
and “Native American”). When ethnicity is not an available category, more
than 95% of Latinos report their race as White.
The study makes several recommendations for
Latino communities, youth and families, law enforcement; advocates;
researchers; public officials and policy-makers; and the juvenile justice
system:
Public officials, policy-makers, and the
justice system should:
- Eliminate racial profiling and other
policies based explicitly or implicitly on racial or ethnic stereotypes.
- Collect data in a way that accurately
counts Latino youth by separating them from White, African-American, and
other youth
- Employ bilingual and culturally competent
staff to ensure better services to the Latino community
- Reduce subjective or biased decision
making by creating objective risk assessment instruments
Concerned families, communities and youth can
also get involved by organizing at a local level to work with the justice
system and make it accountable to their community and youth, by calling for
the active inclusion of youth voices in policy development and implementation,
and by forming civilian advisory groups to guide policy making and
implementation in the law enforcement and justice systems.
