Minority Juvenile Offenders in Minnesota Get Harsher Treatment Than White Kids

“On the Level:Disproportionate Minority Contact in Minnesota’s Juvenile Justice System”

A new report, “On the Level: Disproportionate Minority Contact in Minnesota’s Juvenile Justice System,” shows the disproportionately punitive treatment minority children get in Minnesota courts.  Minnesota Public Radio’s Rupa Shenoy covered this study today.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that either of the local newspapers covered the study’s release at all. But the study discloses the uncomfortable fact that minority juvenile offenders in Minnesota get harsher treatment than white kids.

The gist of the report is no surprise: minority children or “children of color” in Minnesota are treated as criminals and punished in the “correctional institutions” rather than given treatment, therapy, or a “diversion program” in numbers disproportionate to their white juvenile counterparts.

Minority Juveniles Offenders in Minnesota Get Harsher Treatment Than White Kids

The study finds,

The greatest observable disproportionality exists for black or African American youth, who comprise just 8 percent of the youth population but are 34 percent of juvenile delinquency arrests.

You can see what the report documents all around you.  I was awakened by a low-flying state patrol helicopter one night this summer.  The neighborhood rumor mill (people talking over backyard fences, a few e-mails and texts) held that some burglars were in the alley.  In the end, there were 13 police cars, roads were blocked off . . . it was a big ruckus.

Two juveniles were arrested with items that “appeared to have been stolen.”  I asked if the juveniles were black.  Yes, they were.  Two minors, two black kids, were criminally charged with truancy violations. I offered to represent them for free, but it was impossible to find them in the system because they are juveniles. Eyebrows were raised when I asked the alleged-offenders’ race.  I asked because it is relevant to how they are treated.

Look at Who is in Court

“On the Level” puts hard statistics around what is so readily observable in the courtrooms every day.  Minority offenders, young and adult, are put on the most punitive tracks in the criminal justice system while other alternatives exist and white offenders are often able to capitalize on them.  Operation de Novo, Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction, youth-based chemical dependency programs and many, many other programs exist to re-direct youth. Wherever you are in the criminal justice system, advocate for these programs and make sure your attorney does, too.

The full report is available at my website: www.barrysedwardslaw.com