Background
Both nationally and in Massachusetts, Black and Latino youth are more likely to be arrested and to be referred to Juvenile Court than their white peers.
Here in Massachusetts, Black and Latino youth are over-represented at every part of the juvenile justice process. Racial and ethnic disparities begin with arrests and applications for complaint, and continue through each stage of the process.
This is despite the fact that, over the past decade, the total number of youth entering and moving through Massachusetts’ juvenile justice system has gone down substantially as a result of a variety of reforms, including provisions of the 2018 Criminal Justice Reform Act.
Although the overall number of youth in the juvenile justice system – including the total numbers of Black and Latino youth – has gone down, the data indicates that the reforms have not benefited youth of color as much as white youth. As a result, disparities remain stubbornly high.
How the JJPAD Board Measures Disparities
This page presents data on racial and ethnic disparities by juvenile justice system process point. There are several methods for studying disparities, and this page highlights three: percent, Rates of Disproportionality, and Relative Rate Index.
In addition to examining the number and percent of Black, Latino, and white youth that are involved at each process point of the juvenile justice system, the JJPAD Board measures disparities in Massachusetts’ juvenile justice system in two ways:
Rate of Disproportionality (RoD): an indicator of disproportionality calculated by dividing the percentage of youth in a racial/ethnic group at a specific process point (e.g., arrests, detentions, commitments) by the percentage of youth in that same racial/ethnic group in the Massachusetts youth census population or in an earlier process point. RoDs greater than 1.0 indicate overrepresentation of the group. RoDs less than 1.0 indicate underrepresentation of the group.
We use the Massachusetts general youth population (12-17) data as our base population for early system process points (e.g., custodial arrest, summons, and application for complaint) and juvenile court process points for comparison groups starting with the delinquency filing stage.
For example, there were 2.12 times more Black youth at the application for complaint stage compared to the Massachusetts youth population. Additionally, there were 1.15 times more Black youth at the delinquency filings process point compared to the application for complaint process point. These are indications that Black youth are overrepresented at both stages, and that the overrepresentation at the delinquency filing stage adds to the overrepresentation that began at the application for complaint stage.
Relative Rate Index (RRI): an indicator that compares the observed rate of disproportionality for white youth to the observed rate of disproportionality for youth of color after adjusting for “base” population rates, using either data on the demographics of all Massachusetts youth as identified by the U. S. Census, or the demographic breakdown of the youth at an earlier process point of the juvenile justice process. RRIs greater than 1.0 indicate an increased likelihood of involvement for people of color compared to white youth at that point. RRIs less than 1.0 indicate a decreased likelihood of involvement for people of color compared to white youth at that point.
For example, Latino youth were 2.89 times more likely to have an application for complaint issued against them than white youth.
More information on how RoD and RRI are calculated can be found in the "About the Data" section of this page below.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities by Juvenile Justice System Process Point
The data dashboard below breaks down the percent, RoD, and RRI for each race/ethnicity category at each juvenile justice system process point. Use the drop down selections to explore other fiscal years and/or process points for which there is data.
Some race/ethnicity categories have been aggregated to protect confidentiality of youth data and to be able to compare data across juvenile justice system process points.
FY18-FY21 court process point data retrieved from the JJPAD’s FY22 Annual Report; FY22 & FY23 data retrieved on 10/31/2023 from the Massachusetts Trial Court's Tableau Public page. FY18-FY23 DYS data provided to the OCA by DYS’ Department of Research.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities Over Time
The data dashboard below breaks down the percent, RoD, and RRI for a given race/ethnicity category each year between FY18 and FY23. Use the drop down selections to explore other race/ethnicities and/or each process point for which there is data.
Some race/ethnicity categories have been aggregated to protect confidentiality of youth data and to be able to compare data across juvenile justice system process points.
FY18-FY21 court process point data retrieved from the JJPAD’s FY22 Annual Report; FY22 & FY23 data retrieved on 10/31/2023 from the Massachusetts Trial Court's Tableau Public page. FY18-FY23 DYS data provided to the OCA by DYS’ Department of Research.
About the Data
To accurately calculate disparities at each process point of the juvenile justice system, the Board uses decision-specific measures, which reveals the amount of disparity introduced at each decision point by basing each rate calculation on the number of youth at the previous decision point. More information on how to calculate an RRI can be found on the OJJDP website.
Specifically:
- Summons, custodial arrests, & applications for complaint use 2020 Massachusetts youth (12-17) population counts as the comparison group.
- Overnight arrests & delinquency filings use applications for complaint as the comparison group.
- For all other process points, comparisons allow us to see the extent to which disparities increase or decrease as a youth moves from one stage to the next of the juvenile justice process. This includes:
- Arraignments use delinquency filings as the comparison group.
- No Sanction, Probation, suspended commitments, commitments & first-time commitments all use adjudicated delinquent cases as the comparison group.
- All other process points use arraignments as the comparison.
Many tools, training and practice guides can also be found on the National JDAI website supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
For troubleshooting data visualizations, visit this page.
For any questions about what is presented here, or to report any problems with these pages, please contact: kristine.polizzano@mass.gov
Data Obtained From:
Data on Juvenile Court process points is obtained from the Trial Court's Public Dashboards and was retrieved in October 2023.
DYS process point data comes from DYS.
Definitions:
58A Hearing "dangerousness hearing": If a youth is charged with a specific offense listed in Massachusetts General Laws chapter 276, Section 58A, and the District Attorney believes the youth would pose too great a danger to the public to release pretrial, the District Attorney can ask the court to hold the child without bail, or order that the child be released “subject to the least restrictive further condition." The judge makes the final determination.
Application for complaint: An application for delinquent complaint may be filed with the Clerk Magistrate’s office when a police officer or other person believes a youth has committed a delinquent offense. The application for delinquent complaint includes a sworn statement of the alleged facts and is the first step in the court process.
Adjudication: The court's determination of whether the accused youth is guilty (“adjudicated delinquent”) or not guilty (“adjudicated not delinquent’) in delinquency matters.
Arraignment: The procedure by which the youth is brought before a court of law to answer criminal or delinquent charges. Once arraigned, youth officially have a juvenile record.
Commitment: The most serious disposition for a delinquent youth that gives DYS custody of the youth until their 18th birthday, or until their 21st birthday for youthful offenders.
Continued Without a Finding (CWOF): A decision that a judge can make after a youth has admitted that the prosecution can prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. By continuing a case without a finding (of delinquency or guilt) the judge gives the youth a chance to avoid having an official record of disposition.
Court Summons: notifies a youth of the alleged offense and orders them to appear in court. While a youth is not taken into police custody, a summons is a formal entrance into the juvenile justice system.
Custodial arrest: youth was taken into police custody ("custodial arrest") because the police officer found probable cause that a felony has occurred, has directly observed a misdemeanor offense, or was responding to a court-ordered arrest warrant.
Delinquency filing: A delinquency complaint is issued (called a “delinquency filing”) if a Clerk Magistrate finds probable cause to believe that a juvenile has committed the delinquent act detailed on the application for delinquent complaint and decides to “issue the delinquent complaint.”
Disposition: The final outcome of a case, sometimes called the "sentence."
Fiscal year: From July 1 of the previous year through June 30 of the year listed.
Plea: A juvenile's answer in court of "delinquent" or "not delinquent" to the charge(s) against them.
Probation: A youth adjudicated delinquent can be supervised by a probation officer as they remain in the community and follow their conditions of probation. If the youth violates their conditions, their probation officer can bring the youth back to court, where their probation can be revoked.
Race/ethnicity: Historically, the Trial Court reports race and ethnicity data with the following categories: White, Black or African-American, Hispanic/Latinx and Other. The Other category is a consolidation of American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Other, and Multirace, due to low case numbers in these groups. Youth are asked to self-identify.
Probation reports with the following options: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Other or Mixed Race, and white. Ethnicity is defined as: Hispanic or Latino, Non-Hispanic/Latino, or Not known/Not reported.
DYS reports with the following options: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Chooses not to self-identify, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, White, Multiracial (if more than one selected). Ethnicity is self-reported – “Yes” or “No”— as Hispanic. Youth are asked to self-identify.
Suspended DYS commitment: A disposition that gives youth the opportunity to be placed on probation with a DYS commitment possibility. If the youth successfully completes their probation term, they will not be committed to DYS. If they violate their probation, a judge may commit them to DYS.