Why Are Minority Juveniles Targeted?

“Legal order only sustained slavery, segregation and discrimination for most of our nations history. And the fact that police were bound to uphold that order set a pattern for police behavior and attitudes toward minority communities.” L. Kelling and M. Moore’s, The evolving strategy of policing.

The Justice system is influenced by biases and stereotypes that are often incorporated into police decision-making. Perceptions of minority crime, media images of minorities as criminals, and racial hoaxes contribute to stereotypes of young minorities and help to rationalize racial profiling. Racial profiling refers “to any action that results in the heightened racial scrutiny of minorities or not” according to Gabbidon and Greenes, Race and Crime.

Then why are minority juveniles targeted more often? This may be because law enforcement tends to work closely with communities that are more involved. It would seem that minority based communities seem to stray away from police because of past incidents or problems that they have encountered or witnessed. This is the case of Johannes Mehserle, a BART Police officer, who shot and killed African American Oscar Grant on the video above. This so called accident is currently under investigation and seems to be a case of excessive force on another minority. With scenarios like this, minorities tend to stray away in fear of the law. According to a 2006 crime survey, "55% to 64% of minorities believe they are not treated as fairly as whites by police." This may be because of direct and indirect contact with law enforcement.

When there are limited opportunities in communities, youth tend to engage in criminal conduct or violent activities to doing whatever to maintain their status in the streets. Minority youths tend not to fit into certain standers and establish their own values, which involve “activities and behaviors that are in conflict with society.” (Gabbidon and Greene) Juveniles see what happens and tend to stay away from police. With no trust towards Law enforcement they fear them instead. With youth minorities engaging in criminal activities and behaviors, Officers are forced to keep peace and enforce laws. Some Officers may enforce the law more vigorously than others, often targeting minorities because they do not conform into society. This may be because minorities are involved in crimes that increase likelihood of victimization by the police. This then leads to the overrepresentation of juvenile minorities in the Criminal Justice system.