Youth Crime/Adult Time:
Is Justice Served?
Bronx County, New York
The Building Blocks for Youth report, Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served? released on October 26, 2000, reveals disturbing aspects of the prosecution of minority youth in adult court. Overall, the findings show over-representation and disparate treatment of minority youth, and raise serious questions about the fairness and appropriateness of prosecuting youth in the adult criminal system.
In Bronx County, New York, findings show that:
- 100% of the determinations to prosecute youth in the adult criminal court were made by prosecutors or legislators.
- Overall, 100% of cases filed in adult courts involved minority youth.
- None of the youth who were detained pretrial were held in adult jails.
- No African-American youth were represented by retained private counsel. Youth who were represented by retained private attorneys were less likely to be convicted and more likely to be transferred back to juvenile court.
- Fifty percent of African-American youth received a sentence of incarceration. Twenty-nine percent of Latino youth received a sentence of incarceration (as opposed to split sentences or probation). (Note: there were no White youth in the sample.)
To obtain the executive summary of Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served?,visit the Building Blocks for Youth website at: www.buildingblocksforyouth.org.
For the latest Building Blocks for Youth initiative reports, fact sheets, and materials, subscribe to the on-line newsletter by sending an email to: info.bby@erols.com. For additional information, contact: Building Blocks for Youth initiative, Youth Law Center, 1010 Vermont Ave., N.W., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20005. Phone: 202/637-0377; Fax: 202/379-1600; Email: info.bby@erols.com.
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Building Blocks for Youth
For a fair and effective youth justice system
...a comprehensive effort to protect minority youth in the justice system
and to promote rational and effective juvenile justice policies...
