Discriminatory treatment of black adolescents in our juvenile justice system has been reported to contribute to an unfavorable adult outcome for such adolescents. In a long term follow-up of 500 randomly selected cases of adolescents adjudicated delinquent in the Dauphin County (Pennsylvania) Juvenile Court during the years 1960-75, minority (black) adolescents received discriminatory lenience in that they were treated like younger children. Those who received such lenient treatment had a higher rate of adult conviction than those not so treated.
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