Support System Needs Bolstering

Who’s at fault when a juvenile is arrested, convicted and incarcerated for committing a crime?

The police? The prosecuting attorney? The judge?

C’mon, you say. The criminal is responsible. And since the criminal is a juvenile, the offender’s family most likely shares in the responsibility. When families fail or when children reject their values, the community must step in to pick up the pieces.

What if a juvenile offender is a member of a minority group? Does that shift responsibility from the offender to the criminal justice system?

Concerned that racism may be affecting justice, a committee organized by the state Court Administrator’s Office has sent the Legislature recommendations to address “racial disproportionality.”

The report notes that youths of color are more likely than white youth to be detained, prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned. It acknowledges that much of the difference results from proper considerations such as seriousness of the crime and the offender’s prior record.

But the report also says that youths of color tend to be dealt with more severely than white youths facing similar charges with a similar record. It is this difference that led the 1993 Legislature to require remedial action such as cultural diversity curriculum for judges and police. Now, the court committee recommends additional steps, such as standards to guide prosecuting attorneys, outreach to offenders’ families and efforts to get people of color involved as mentors for wayward youth.

These recommendations make sense - especially, the efforts to involve family and community.

It isn’t enough to change the system. Prime responsibility for juvenile crime rests with offenders, who in turn are shaped by their families and peers. Statistics show other kinds of disproportionality: 63 percent of black families are headed by a single parent; kids from single-parent familes are more likely to commit crimes. Meanwhile, violent gangs serve as surrogate families for troubled youth.

Sentencing statistics gloss over the human stories behind each juvenile offender. But judges can’t. Family stability and gang affiliation are relevant when judges try to figure out how to rescue an offender and protect society.

The racial disparities in juvenile crime point to serious, complex problems. In the system. And in society, too. Until we learn how to help troubled families, the job isn’t done.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board