JUSTICE AND RACISM

Two items in the Star last week illustrate how far this country must go to
eliminate racism in the criminal justice system.

One news report states that Hispanic youths are treated far more harshly in
the juvenile justice system across the U.S. than non- Hispanic whites.

The other story reported the indictment of the Inglewood policeman who was
caught on videotape punching a handcuffed black teen.

Now, we don't know if the Inglewood policeman will be convicted of the
assault charges he faces, but his indictment certainly set the mood for the
harsh news about Hispanics in the criminal justice system.

More depressing than the treatment for Hispanic youths is that the problem
is getting worse, according to the study from the Institute for
Children,Youth and Families at Michigan State University.

According to the report, most states detain a disproportionate number of
Latino youths before trial. Not only that, but Hispanic youths in detention
centers around the country rose by 84 percent in the period between 1983
and 1991. During that same period non-Hispanic white youths who were
detained grew by 8 percent while the overall rate grew by 46 percent.

The indictment of the criminal justice system is complete and irrefutable.
"They are arrested more often, detained more often, incarcerated more often
and for longer periods of time," the associate director of the institute said.

For instance, Hispanic youths with a clean criminal record are 13 times
more likely than non-Hispanic whites to be jailed for drug offenses. And if
convicted, they will spend twice as much time in jail.

Now, we were ready to blame an economy that has recently gone sour for most
of these blatant inequities. During economic downturns, crime rates go up.
But the study reviewed data as far back as 1983 and included data during
the most recent economic boom.

And while we know that a sluggish economy is responsible for higher crime
rates, there is no way to excuse the harshness suffered by Latinos at the
hands of the criminal justice system. The nation's criminal justice system
is a people-driven system that is practicing blatant racism.

Because it is national and because it is institutionalized, this problem
calls for a national solution.

It screams for a thorough study by the Department of Justice. And when the
study is completed, it should be followed by a national plan to find and
eliminate the racism that treats Hispanics more harshly than their
non-Hispanic white counterparts.