Juvenile Justice & Youth Development

Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC)

A major issue facing juvenile justice practitioners and policymakers across the country is disproportionate minority contact (DMC) with the juvenile justice system.  DMC refers to the problem of unequal treatment of white and minority juveniles in the juvenile justice system.  Additional links related to disproportionate minority contact are provided below.

Federal legislation requires each state that receives federal juvenile justice funding to monitor and address DMC.  States must assess the degree to which minority juveniles have contact with the juvenile justice system compared with white juveniles.  If DMC is found, a state must:  1) try to identify specific points in the system where minority and white juveniles are being treated differently, and 2) implement strategies to help eliminate DMC.  Below are some of the ways Connecticut is working to eliminate DMC:

• Connecticut's DMC Studies
• Effective Police Interactions with Youth Training Program
• Identification of Disproportionate Incident Reporting Management Tool
• Police and Youth Grant Program 
• IDIR

The goal of these and similar efforts is to ensure that the juvenile justice system is race-neutral.  Whether a youth has contact with the juvenile justice system, and the result of that contact, should not be influenced by the youth's race or background.

View this video for more information about Connecticut’s DMC studies and some resulting projects aimed at eliminating DMC.

The following video is in Windows Media format. If you cannot view it, please contact our office.

{Windows Media Player Icon}   Addressing Disproportionate Minority Contact Video, September 2008.  (Length: 9½ Minutes, File size: 25.9 MB)

{TOP of page} Connecticut's DMC Studies

To examine this issue in Connecticut, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC) awarded a grant to Spectrum Associates to conduct a study of 1991-1992 data to assess disproportionate minority contact with the Connecticut juvenile justice system.  Study findings were reported in 1995, and the JJAC developed a series of recommendations for implementation by state, local, and private agencies.  Recommendations were directed at both personnel policy changes and program modifications.

Consistent with its commitment to monitor the state's advancement in addressing the issue of disproportionate minority contact, the JJAC and the Office of Policy and Management awarded Spectrum Associates an additional grant to repeat its study of disproportionate minority contact with the Connecticut juvenile justice system with 1998-1999 data and contrast the new findings to the baseline study.  The reassessment study focused on the following research questions:

• To what extent are minorities currently overrepresented in the Connecticut juvenile justice system, and has the level or nature of minority overrepresentation changed since the baseline study?
• To what extent, if at all, do disparities currently exist in system processing based on race/ethnicity, and has the system improved in those areas found to be problematic in the baseline study?
• Do disparities exist with regard to new system decision-making points (e.g., use of alternatives to detention, discretionary transfers of juveniles to the adult system)?
• Have juvenile offender perceptions of the juvenile justice system changed since the baseline study?
• To what extent do practitioners believe the strategies proposed by the JJAC will be effective in achieving more equitable treatment of minority and white juveniles in the Connecticut juvenile justice system?

The JJAC asked Spectrum Associates to conduct a third study of disproportionate minority contact (DMC) for the period of 2005-2006.  The major goals for this study were to determine: 1) what differences, if any, exist in decisions made for Black, Hispanic and White juveniles who are processed for similar types of offenses as they move though the juvenile justice system; 2) if observed differences remain when controlling for offender and offense characteristics; and 3) if the system has improved in those areas found to be problematic in the two prior studies.  For more information on disproportionate minority contact with Connecticut's juvenile justice system, use the link below to download the JJAC-sponsored report entitled A Second Reassessment of Disproprotionate Minority Contact in Connecticut's Juvenile Justice System, May 2009.

Acrobat Reader is required to view the following document.  If you cannot view it, please contact our office.  {PDF File} A Second Reassessment of Disproportionate Minority Contact in Connecticut's Juvenile Justice System, May 2009 (75 pages; File size: 820 KB)

{TOP of page} Effective Police Interactions with Youth Training Curriculum

An important learning from Connecticut's DMC studies is that too many minority youth are entering the juvenile justice system compared with white juveniles.  Since police officers act as "gatekeepers" to the juvenile justice system, DMC at this point and disparate handling of juveniles by police significantly affect subsequent handling of those juveniles.  The JJAC charged a task group of police officers to identify strategies to help eliminate DMC.  The result was the development of a new training curriculum targeting patrol officers.

The "Effective Police Interactions with Youth" training curriculum provides patrol officers with information to better understand youth behavior and with practical strategies for interacting with young people in positive ways.  The goal of the training is to reduce the likelihood that interactions between police officers and young people will have negative outcomes and/or result in police action, particularly for minority youth.  Certified police trainers teach officers about DMC and adolescent development through a variety of training strategies including videos, class discussions, small group activities, and role playing.  

In the training, participants learn:

• The role of patrol officers in helping to eliminate the problem of disproportionate minority contact with Connecticut's juvenile justice system.
• Why adolescents tend to test boundaries, challenge authority, and have difficulty controlling impulses and making sound decisions.
• Strategies for communicating more effectively with young people and improving police/youth relations.

A formal evaluation of the training program's effectiveness has been completed by the University of Connecticut Center for Applied Research in Human Development.  Results show that the training program significantly increased patrol officer knowledge about how to interact effectively with youth and improved officer attitudes toward youth.  To view the full evaluation report, use the link below.

Acrobat Reader is required to view the following document.  If you cannot view it, please contact our office. {PDF File} Effective Police Interactions with Youth: Training Evaluation (46 pages; File size: 794 KB)

View this video for a description of the Effective Police Interactions with Youth training curriculum.

The following video is in Windows Media format. If you cannot view it, please contact our office.

{Windows Media Player Icon}   Effective Police Interactions with Youth Video, September 2008.  (Length: 4½ Minutes, File size: 11.7 MB)

To request a more detailed video and written material describing this training program, contact the JJAC staff person, Valerie LaMotte, at valerie.lamotte@ct.gov.  Be sure to include your name, organization, and mailing address in the e-mail message.

Visit the Training & Events page for dates of upcoming training sessions and registration information. 

{TOP of page} Identification of Disproportionate Incident Reporting Tool

{TOP of page} Police and Youth Grant Program

The Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee funds a program category on police working with youth in non-enforcement roles.  The purpose of the program is to provide local police agencies with opportunities to work with young people through recreational, athletic, and service-learning programs.  By improving relations between police officers and young people, the JJAC hopes to foster understanding and reduce the likelihood that police/youth interactions will result in negative outcomes for youth, particularly minority youth.

For more information about police and youth grants, visit the Police and Youth programs page.

{TOP of page} Disproportionate Minority Contact Links

• Connecticut DMC Videos - The following videos are in Windows Media format.  If you cannot view them, contact our office.
  • {Windows Media Player Icon}   Addressing Disproportionate Minority Contact Video - This video describes Connecticut's DMC studies and two key initiatives resulting from them: a training curriculum for patrol officers and a management tool for identification of disproportionate incident reporting in residential facilities.  (Length: 9½ Minutes, File size: 25.9 MB)
  • {Windows Media Player Icon}   Effective Police Interactions with Youth Video - This video describes a police training curriculum designed to reduce the likelihood that interactions between police officers and young people will have negative outcomes and/or result in police action, particularly for minority youth.  (Length: 4½ Minutes, File size: 11.7 KB)
• Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance DMC page -  Contains background information, action items, and contact information for Connecticut residents interested in the issue of DMC.  (www.ctjja.org/committee_minority.html) 

• American Civil Liberties Union DMC page - Contains information on DMC and links to an ACLU DMC study.  (www.aclu.org/crimjustice/juv/24764res20060328.html)
• Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago - Provides resources, training lessons, and links to other DMC-related information.   (www.crfc.org/dmc.html)
• DMC Action Network - A national platform designed to expand the work of state and local jurisdictions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system.  Sponsored by the Center for Children's Law and Policy.  (http://www.cclp.org/simple.php/dmc_action_network)
• Juvenile Defense Network - Contains information on links on disproportionate minority contact as well as specific data and research results on DMC in Massachusetts.  (www.youthadvocacyproject.org/JDN%20DMC.htm#advocacy)
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention DMC page - OJJDP's central source for training and technical assistance, tools, data, resources, and publications on the subject of disproportionate minority contact.  (www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/dmc)