1 / 19

Race/ethnicity and the juvenile justice process:

Race/ethnicity and the juvenile justice process:. Exploring the over-representation of Latino youth in California’s juvenile justice system. Enrique Ruacho May 16, 2009 Advisor: Dr. Elliot Currie. Introduction Statement of the Problem Research Questions Literature Review Methods Findings

debra-brady
Download Presentation

Race/ethnicity and the juvenile justice process:

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Race/ethnicity and the juvenile justice process: Exploring the over-representation of Latino youth in California’s juvenile justice system Enrique Ruacho May 16, 2009 Advisor: Dr. Elliot Currie

  2. Introduction Statement of the Problem Research Questions Literature Review Methods Findings Conclusion Acknowledgements Outline

  3. Introduction • Who forms the juvenile justice system? • Police, probation, and judicial officers • Public defenders, prosecutors, and community advocates • What does it do? • Public safety • Treat and rehabilitate youth

  4. Introduction • Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) • Relative Rate Index (RRI) • Compares minority youth to White youth at various stages

  5. Statement of the Problem Source: Juvenile Justice in California, 2006

  6. Research Questions • Does the juvenile justice system in California operate with a bias that differentially disadvantages Latino youth? • How does that bias manifest and operate at different stages of the justice system? • How might this system be changed?

  7. Literature Review • Research shows that minority youth are more likely to be… • Apprehended and arrested • Detained before trial • Receive a disposition at trial Source: (Armstrong & Rodriguez, 2005; Brown Ray & Alarid, 2004; Leiber & Fox, 2005; Leiber & Johnson, 2008; MacDonald, 2003; Secret & Johnson, 1997; Tittle & Curran, 1988)

  8. Literature Review • Gap: Focuses on White youth and African-American/minority/non-white youth • Gap: Research overwhelmingly uses a quantitative model of analysis • Exception: Conley, 1994

  9. Methods • Site: Los Angeles County • Participants: • Police, probation, and judicial officers, public defenders, prosecutors, and community advocates • Sample size: N=9

  10. Methods • Sampling strategy • Publicly available contact info • Social networks • Data collection procedures • Government reporting systems • Interviews between 45 min. to 1 hour • January to April 2009

  11. Methods • Data Analysis • Recurring themes and trends • Researcher’s position relative to the study

  12. Findings Dual Roles and Narrow Tasks • Decentralized network of justice officials • Narrow tasks • Lack of a holistic perspective

  13. Findings Dual Role and Narrow Tasks • Public Defender: “… what I try to do is defend my clients… make sure that they have good legal representation, and make sure that all their constitutional rights are being protected.” (March 2009)

  14. Findings Dual Roles and Narrow Tasks • Focus is on youth conduct, rather than contributing factors • Judicial Officer 1: “I mean there’s just a bunch of reasons… the system has to deal with the conduct” (January 2009).

  15. Findings Systematic Discrimination • Latino youth face severe adversities • Bias: Sociological perspective vs. Legal elements

  16. Findings Rehabilitation: An Arduous Task • Not a shared goal • Lack of resources • Community Advocate: “…it’s really difficult for organizations like us… I need 20 case managers. I need more resources” (February 2009).

  17. Conclusion • Policy recommendations • How to reduce bias through policies? • Juvenile justice reform • Future research • Issues of juvenile delinquency and violence in the educational system

  18. Acknowledgements • Professor Elliott Currie • Professor Kristen Day • UROP • Taylor Hogg • Angel Ruacho

  19. Questions???

More Related