A father of two was fatally shot at about 11 p.m. yesterday, apparently caught in the crossfire between two teenagers at the corner of Busy and Main streets. Witnesses said the suspects, two black youths between 14 and 17, started arguing, then pulled out guns. The victim, whose name has not been released yet, was a husband and father of two daughters who was reportedly walking home due to car trouble.
Unfortunately, the above description of juvenile crime is common in the media. Studies suggest that such depictions may lead to exaggerated fears, faulty perceptions and punitive processes (i.e., legislative, etc.) which, along with other factors, result in the disproportionate confinement of minority youth in criminal and juvenile justice systems in the United States.
Though such articles about juvenile crime are common, they are not consistent with actual reported rates of occurrences. In newspaper and TV coverage (i.e., “Cops,” “America’s Wanted,” etc.) this misrepresentation leads to faulty and negative perceptions that are both pervasive and influential.
[For more of this story, written by Patrick Webb, go to http://jjie.org/2017/01/25/how...t-of-minority-youth/]
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