Senators openly declared that if black and brown children are treated more harshly by our criminal justice system it is simply because they commit more crimes than white children. Today's report answers those charges, recounting study after study demonstrating that minority youths are more likely than whites to be treated as harshly as possible at each step in the criminal justice system even when compared only to youths of similar age, gender, offense and record. Unequal enforcement of our nation's laws has inevitably eroded the public's faith in the criminal justice system, affecting the safety and security of all Americans. As today's report demonstrates, police, prosecutors and judges encounter minority witnesses and juries so seared by previous encounters with a racist criminal justice system they are reluctant to cooperate. We are not asking Congress to be soft on crime.
Minorities are no less fearful of becoming a crime victim than are whites.
Any contradiction between law enforcement and civil rights is unnecessary. But to ensure that such contradictions are erased, Congress must include a civil rights analysis of any new crime bill it passes.