Massachusetts Press Release
Lisa H. Thurau-Gray	617-305-3207

New Report Exposes Disparities in Treatment of 
Latino and Latina Youth in Justice System

 

July 18, 2002

Boston, Massachusetts -- Latino 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 titled, “¿Dónde Está la Justicia? A Call to Action on Behalf of Latino and Latina Youth in the U.S. Justice System.”

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 researchers, Latino youth are incarcerated at higher rates than Whites in 46 of the 50 states.

“These national findings are reflected in Massachusetts,” said Lisa Thurau-Gray of the Juvenile Justice Center. “Latino youth are tremendously over-represented in the Commonwealth’s juvenile justice system. It is alarming that although Latinos represent a mere 8.8% of the total youth population in Massachusetts, they constitute 35.2% of the juveniles committed to the Department of Youth Services and 17.7% of the juveniles on probation.”

Lack of bilingual and culturally competent staff often result in harsher treatment, and profound confusion and frustration for youth and families who speak only Spanish or who speak little English. The INS incarcerates many Latino youth, though in most instances they are not charged with any crime other than being in the U.S. 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.

 

“The Juvenile Justice Center’s experiences in court confirm the study’s findings,” said Lisa Thurau-Gray. “It’s clear that the Commonwealth needs to increase its attention to and address the disparate treatment of Latino youth from arrest to commitment and question its policies.”