DMC Factsheet: Pennsylvania

PENNSYLVANIA

Disproportionate Minority Confinement

What is Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC)? Under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) exists when the proportion of youths detained or confined in secure detention facilities, secure correctional facilities, jails and lockups who are members of minority groups exceed their groups' proportions in the general population.

How widespread is DMC? In virtually every state, at every stage of the juvenile justice system, youth of color are overrepresented and receive disparate treatment, particularly in secure confinement.

State Profile: Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has an estimated minority youth population of 14%.
Based on the most recent 1998 data available, 61% of the youths confined in secure detention facilities are minority and 74% of the youths confined in secure correctional facilities are minority.
Approximately 25% of all youths arrested in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in 1996 were Latinos; yet Lations comprise 14% of the population.
A national study of the transfer of youth in adult criminal courts found in Philadelphia that 80% of cases filed in adult courts involved minority youth.

Source: Disproportionate Minority Confinement Report. Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (2000); The Role of Race in Juvenile Justice in Pennsylvania. Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice (1992); and Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served? Building Blocks for Youth (2000).

What must states do to comply with the DMC mandate? Current law directs states to identify the extent to which disproportionate minority confinement exists, to assess the reason that it exists and to develop intervention strategies to address the causes for disproportionate minority confinement. The law does not require, and has never resulted in, the release of any youths from custody based on race, nor has it required numerical quotas for arrests. No state's funding under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act has ever been reduced as a result of noncompliance with this provision.

Contact Information: To provide comments or obtain additional information on Pennsylvania's state plan to address disproportionate minority confinement, contact Pennsylvania state juvenile justice specialist:

Ruth Williams
Juvenile Justice Specialist
Commission on Crime and Delinquency
P.O. Box 1167
Harrisburg, PA 17108
Phone: (717) 787-8559
Fax: (717) 772-0551

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