Project Nia has released a report that provides an overview of juvenile justice in Illinois.

The report is intended to offer a brief primer for those who want to better understand how many young people across the state come to end up in the criminal punishment system. 

From Juvenile Justice in Illinois:

The juvenile justice system disproportionately targets youth of color. Children of color ages 10-17 represent only 16 percent of the overall child population ages 10-17, but make up 34 percent of children arrested, 38 percent of children adjudicated, and 68 percent of children in residential placement. Over 60,000 children were held in residential placement in 2011 on any given day. Black

Nationally, there’s been a steady decrease in the rate of violent crime committed by juveniles over the past fifteen years. In 2011, the serious violent crime offending rate was 6 crimes per 1,000 juveniles ages 12-17, with a total of 154,000 such crimes involving juveniles. This was similar to the rate in 2010, but it was significantly lower than the 1993 peak rate of 52 crimes per 1,000 juveniles ages 12-17.

Read more at Juvenile Justice in Illinois

In Illinois, Black children were 4.6 times more likely to be housed in residential placement in 2011 that both whites and Latinos.

Click here for the full report.

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