And Justice for Some

Book excerpt: The over-representation of minorities, particularly African Amer., in the nation¿s prisons has received much attention in recent years. However, the disproportionate representation of racial/ethnic groups is not limited to adult prisons and jails. It is also found among youth confined in secure juvenile facilities. Since many data systems fail to disaggregate ethnicity from race, Latino youth are often counted as ¿White.¿ As a result, data on the extent to which minority populations are over-represented in the juvenile justice system are generally underreported in the analysis of this issue. This report presents several sources of data and utilizes both original and previously published analysis. Tables and graphs.