Raceethnicity and the juvenile justice process Exploring the

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

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

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

Introduction n Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) n Relative Rate Index (RRI) – Compares minority youth to White youth at various stages

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

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

Literature Review n 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; Mac. Donald, 2003; Secret & Johnson, 1997; Tittle & Curran, 1988)

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

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

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

Methods n Data Analysis – Recurring themes and trends n Researcher’s study position relative to the

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

Findings Dual Role and Narrow Tasks n 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)

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

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

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

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

Acknowledgements n Professor Elliott Currie n Professor Kristen Day n UROP n Taylor Hogg n Angel Ruacho

Questions? ? ?