Within the area of criminal justice, few issues have generated as much interest and controversy as the relationship between race and ethnicity and crime (Piquero, 2008). A wealth of research has demonstrated that non-white youths make up the overwhelming majority of youths at various decision points throughout the juvenile justice system (e.g., arrest, referral, placement, and waiver; Bishop, 2005). Official records have indicated that non-white youths are more likely to be arrested and processed in the juvenile justice system compared to white youth. This finding has emerged in a number of studies examining self-reports of offending and official records of contact with the police, arrests, and post-disposition outcomes. Researchers and policymakers alike have devoted a considerable amount of time to examining these race/ethnicity differences – especially given the strong association between juvenile and adult offending (Piquero, Farrington, & Blumstein, 2003; Piquero, 2008).

The report is divided into the following sections:

• Background – This section provides a review of the current state of the literature related to DMC and theories of DMC.
• The Current Project – This project introduction provides a description of the goals and methodology for the current research project.
• Survey Analyses – This section provides a detailed description of the online surveys conducted with law enforcement agency (LEA) personnel. It summarizes officer responses to demographic questions, questions about the nature and prevalence of DMC, and knowledge of factors related to DMC and efforts to reduce DMC. The survey items also included a section where officers were asked to provide possible explanations for DMC trend in their jurisdiction. These responses are summarized in terms of the major theories of DMC described in the aforementioned literature review. The section concludes with a summary of officers’ knowledge of local efforts to address DMC, suggestions to reduce DMC, and perceptions of the adequacy of resources to address DMC in their jurisdiction.
• Interviews – Interviews were conducted to provide additional detail about patterns of DMC over time. This section summarizes officers’ and court personnel’s perceptions of what is being done both at the agency and system level to address DMC. This section elaborates on some of the issues discussed in surveys.
• Discussion – This section provides a summary of the study’s findings and attempts to connect the literature review, survey, and interview results, in order to provide a complete picture of the issues surrounding DMC, including efforts to reduce DMC. A review of best practices related to DMC reduction efforts is provided. Limitations regarding the current study are discussed as are suggestions for future research.
• Appendix – The appendix to the report provides the DMC Relative Risk Index (RRI) trends (in the form of figures) for each jurisdiction, by race/ethnicity, and over time. An introduction to the section explains caveats to the trend analyses, how to interpret the figures, and how to determine whether significant change has occurred over time. Periods of parity and disparity (DMC) are denoted. A text summary of the trends is also provided.