Racial Disparities
Since 2004, CfJJ has taken a leadership role in the important task of identifying and addressing the racial and ethnic disparities that exist in the Massachusetts’ juvenile justice system. Our work includes:
• implementing the Just Facts Campaign• publishing Fact Sheets and other educational materials for both stakeholders in the system as well as the general public
• presenting at forums and conferences around the Commonwealth
• sharing our expertise with researchers, advocates and policy makers
• becoming a founding member of the newly formed Massachusetts Juvenile Justice Task Force on Racial Disparities (Link to Task Force page)
• supporting the development and implementation of projects in Massachusetts that are designed to reduce racial disparities
• actively participating in the work of the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee and the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative to address racial disparities
Often referred to as Disproportionate Minority Contact or DMC, racial disparities exist at every stage of the juvenile justice system from arrest to re-entry. For example, black youth are 8 times as likely to be held in secure confinement as white youth – yet there is no evidence that black youth commit more crimes, or more serious crimes, than white youth.
DISPROPORTIONATE MINORITY CONTACT (DMC) = A term used in
the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act to describe the circumstance
when the proportion of youth of color coming into contact with juvenile justice system at
arrest, arraignment, detention or some other major point in the system exceeds the
proportion of youth of color in the general population. DMC is a problem in
Massachusetts and throughout the nation.
CfJJ Fact Sheets
DMC Fact Sheet (November, 2005)
Racial Disparities in the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice System (November, 2005)
Other Publications
National Council on Crime and Delinquency: And Justice for Some: DifferentialTreatment for Youth of Color in the Justice System (January, 2007)