Nuances of Juvenile Justice Decision Making: Exploring Disparities in Lower Level Offenses

• In Event: Disproportionate Minority Contact at Early Stages of the Justice Process

Abstract

A large body of research has examined racial and gender disparities in juvenile justice decision making, generally concluding that disparities continue to plague the system. Further, research indicates that over 70% of juveniles are in detention for low level offenses rather than violent offenses (Mendel, 2009), and that bias in decision making is more pronounced for lower level offenses. In Virginia, descriptive data show that youth accused of lower level offenses continue to be detained at alarming rates, but questions remain about the nuances of disparities in these offense types. The current study investigates the impact of race and gender on juvenile justice outcomes in ‘non-compliance’ charges (e.g., probation violations, contempt) and other low level offenses in Virginia. Policy implications and directions for future research will be discussed.

Authors

• Allison T. Chappell, Old Dominion University

• Scott Maggard, Old Dominion University