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Race and Sex Disparity in Juvenile Justice Processing

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Handbook of Juvenile Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry

Abstract

This chapter describes the distribution of youths in juvenile justice systems in the USA based on sex and race. If children all shared the same experiences equally, the proportion of youths in the juvenile justice system in one demographic group would mirror that of the general population. That is not the situation now, nor has it ever been. Instead, there are very clear differences based on race, ethnicity, and gender in the prevalence and reasons that children become involved in juvenile justice, and in the type of experiences they have during the process. These disparities should be considered within the context of the distinct system of justice for children that exists in the USA. This chapter describes what is known about race and gender differences in juvenile justice and why they exist, and recommends how official decision makers might intervene with youth more equitably in the future.

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  1. Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Southern Illinois University, 4238 Faner Hall, MC 4504, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Kimberly Kempf-Leonard PhD

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  1. Kimberly Kempf-Leonard PhD
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Correspondence to Kimberly Kempf-Leonard PhD .

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  1. Yale University, S. Frontage Road 230, New Haven, 06519, Connecticut, USA

    Elena L. Grigorenko

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Kempf-Leonard, K. (2012). Race and Sex Disparity in Juvenile Justice Processing. In: Grigorenko, E. (eds) Handbook of Juvenile Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0905-2_4

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