Race, Ethnicity, and Serious and Violent Juvenile Offending

This Bulletin describes the racial distribution of serious and violent offending among juveniles in the United States. It provides a picture of the short-term national trends for offending patterns by race and ethnicity and summarizes research findings on racial and ethnic differences in chronic juvenile offending. Various explanations are given for the racial and ethnic differences observed. The Bulletin includes recommendations for improving public understanding of these differences and implications for guiding prevention and intervention efforts. Data are from state records generated by criminal and juvenile justice authorities and self-report data from delinquency and victimization surveys. The magnitude of the differences under which different groups live suggests that the individual-level correlation between race and serious and violent juvenile offending is a function of ecological conditions. This supports the idea that the association of race and juvenile violence is primarily a function of community context. (Contains 57 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Vihis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position cr policy. John tL Wi'lson, Acting Administrator

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