[Peace] Champaign County Juvenile Criminal Charges

[Jan & Durl Kruse]

Just to let the group know I recorded the following Public Square  
this morning for playing Friday, Dec. 11.
Durl

Hello, my name is Durl Kruse and I am a member of CU Citizens for  
Peace and Justice.

Unknown to many in our community is the striking statistical  
differences in criminal charges that exist between white and black  
juveniles in Champaign County.  It is time to shine a bright light on  
the subject and begin a much overdue community discussion as to the  
reasons and implications for these significant differences.

Recently Champaign Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice requested  
from the State Attorney’s office records of all juvenile criminal  
cases filed between January 2008 and October 2009.  A close review of  
this information revealed some startling facts.  But first some  
background information.

According to 2008 U.S. census data there are approximately 38,500  
persons under 18 living in Champaign County.  Roughly 78% or 30,000  
are white and 11.5% or 4,400 are black.  There were a total of 525  
juvenile cases filed in Champaign County of which 20% or 106 were  
white and 73% or 384 were black.

So, what does this tell us?  It says that 3.5 of every 1000 white  
youth while almost 87 of every 1000 black youth faced a criminal  
charge during this period.  Black youth are nearly 25 times more  
likely than white youth to face a criminal charge in Champaign County.

One must certainly ask why is that?  What is happening here?  How  
does this impact our community and especially the black community?

A closer look at the data reveals some other troubling facts.

Once juvenile cases enter the criminal justice system, almost 37% of  
all white cases and about 50% of all black cases result in a felony  
or a misdemeanor conviction.  That’s a discrepancy of close to 13%.   
If the courts are fair and impartial, one would think the percentages  
would be similar, but they are not.  Is this a reflection of a racial  
bias in our criminal justice system?

Take another example.

Of 22 charges of resisting arrest or obstructing justice, zero were  
white while twenty were black.  What is one to derive from this  
fact?  Could law enforcement intentionally be charging black  
juveniles more aggressively than white juveniles?

There is much more to discuss than time permits.  But clearly this  
should be a topic of concern to all in our community, especially  
leaders of our schools, local government officials, the media,  
churches, law enforcement agencies, and the criminal justice system  
itself.

Asking the difficult questions is one way to begin the process.  We  
must confront and address these facts if we are to help all our youth  
become productive successful members of our community.
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