Black youth five times more likely to be incarcerated

Sentencing Project - Black youth were more than five times as likely to be detained or committed compared to white youth, according to data from the Department of Justice collected in October 2015 and recently released. In 2001, black youth were four times as likely as whites to be incarcerated.

Between 2001 and 2015, overall juvenile placements fell by 54 percent. However, white youth placements have declined faster than black youth placements, resulting in a worsening of already significant racial disparity.

In six states, African American youth are at least 10 times as likely to be held in placement as are white youth: New Jersey, Wisconsin, Montana, Delaware, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Five states saw their racial disparity at least double: Maryland, Montana, Connecticut, Delaware, and Wisconsin. Three states decreased their racial disparity by at least half: Vermont, West Virginia, and New Hampshire.