Problem II

Running Head: PROBLEM DEFINITION PAPER II

Assignment #2 Delinquency Cases Disposed by Type of Offense, Sex, and Race: 1995 to 2008 Erica A. Ballard SOWK 300 Tuskegee University March 12, 2012

Problem II Problem Identification

Table 341: Delinquency cases disposed by Juvenile Courts by Type of Offense, Race and Sex, shows that from 1995 to 2008 several delinquency cases were disposed by juvenile courts according to the type of offenses, ones sex, and race. The different races that shown in the table that contribute to the juveniles case disposure are: White, Black, American Indian and Asian. The sex categories that the juvenile is placed in are Male and Female. Last but not lease the different delinquency offense categories for the juveniles are Person Offense, Property Offense, Drug Offense, and Public Order. The issue is that more white juveniles and more male juveniles as a whole are having their cases disposed more than any other race and sex.

Problem Description The table that I have chosen (table 341) is entitled Delinquency Cases Disposed by Juvenile Courts by the Type of Offense, Race and Sex. It shows that from the years of 1995 to 2008, there was a huge amount of Delinquency cases disposed by Juvenile courts. There were 1,337,000 juveniles that ranged from age ten to age seventeen whose cases were disposed. Some cases were disposed according to the type of offense that the juvenile had and some cases were disposed according to the juveniles sex, race and type of offense. The problem that has been presented is that during the years of 1995 to 2008 there were a higher number of male juveniles than female juveniles who committed criminal acts and had their cases were disposed. Also, there were a higher number of whites than any other race that had their cases disposed after committing criminal acts.

Problem II

The problem effects the survival and propagation of African Americans by the decreased amount of procreation rates. The amount of black juveniles who commit criminal acts have a case disposal rate of only 496,300 which is less than the amount of case disposals of white juveniles. Therefore, there will be a lower percentage in the amount of blacks that procreate than the amount of whites that procreate. In order to lower the rate of juvenile cases that are disposed, the juvenile who committed the criminal acts should suffer the consequences of their actions. However, the consequences of their actions should not be more than what their committed act was. The courts should improve in the area of convicting juveniles by their race. The amount of juveniles who are guilty of a criminal act and have their cases disposed should not depend upon their race. The rate for whites would not exceed that of any other race if case disposals were done according only to their offense and age.

Findings A. Magnitude In table 340: Delinquency Cases Disposed by Juvenile Courts by Type of Offense: 1990 to 2008, the types of offenses that the juveniles had were shown. The problem that is presented is the amounts of cases that are being disposed are based upon the juveniles race, sex and offense. Table 341 shows that in the year 1995, there was a total of 1,396,000 male cases disposed; which holds a 94.7% case disposure rate alone. In contrast, in the same year (1995), there were only 404,200 female cases disposed; which holds a 28.9% case disposure rate. This problem negatively affects juveniles because if they are not a certain race, sex, of their offense does not align with the courts opinions;

Problem II

the juvenile has a lesser chance of his or her case being disposed. This situation brings forth the issue of discrimination; in order for ones criminal offense to be disposed, they must meet the requirements of the courts. B. Scope The problem of sexism and racism is a huge problem among several races and sexes. According to table 341: Delinquency Cases Disposed by Juvenile Courts by Type of Offense, Sex, and Race: 1995 to 2008, the problem of unequal case disposals within juvenile courts affects the lives of African Americans, Whites, American Indians and even Asians all over the United States. According to the case rate findings within table 340: Delinquency Cases Disposed by Juvenile Courts by Type of Offense, there was a total of 62.9% (case rate) cases disposed by the juvenile courts in 1995. This percentage of cases includes disposals that were made by the juvenile courts based upon each individuals (juvenile) race, sex and type of offense. Majority of the case disposal percentage counts for the cases of white juveniles. C. Changes The inequality issue that takes its position in juvenile courts has been in existence for over fourteen years (1995 to 2008). Over the course of time, specifically from 1995 to 2008, there have been less male delinquency cases being disposed by juvenile courts, but more female cases being disposed by juvenile courts. In contrast, in relevance to the amount of cases being disposed by juvenile courts according to race, there has been a slim decrease in the amount of white juvenile cases that are disposed. For African Americans, the amount of cases disposed from 1995 to 2008 decreased by 1,000 cases in the year 2000, but then rose again to its normal amount in both 2005 and 2008. As for

Problem II

American Indians and Asians, the amount of cases disposed throughout 1995 to 2008, only decreased by 1,000 cases for each year. D. Disparities There are major differences in the problem of case disposals in terms of race and sex. There are more males who are enabled to have their cases disposed than there are females who are enabled to have their cases disposed. For the differences in case disposals in terms of race, there are more cases being disposed for whites than any other race and Asians receive the least case disposals. There is also a major difference in the problem when it comes to the type of offenses that are committed by the juveniles who go to court. For example, if the offense that was committed was forcible rape, it is less likely for the case to be disposed. However, if the offense was in the category of property offenses, the juvenile has a greater chance of having their case disposed.

Problem II Works Cited U.S. Census Bureau Delinquency Cases Disposed by Juvenile Courts by Type of Offense, Sex, and Race: 1995 to 2008. Retrieved March 01, 2012. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0341.pdf