Prof. Perry Moriearty Interviewed on NPR About Racial Disparities Among Incarcerated Youth

Professor Perry Moriearty was interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition about racial disparities among youth who are incarcerated. Studies have shown that children of color are treated more harshly in the justice system than their white peers, and federal data released last month suggests that disparity is widening — especially for Black and American Indian children. Prof. Moriearty said the growing disparities are in part because youth incarceration rates are actually far lower than they were a few decades ago. She said, “When we reduce incarceration overall, writ large, disparities often go up.” She said people people often assume that when you reduce incarceration for all children, those who remain are only the ones who really needed to be in detention. “What you would often hear is ‘We've now finally got the kids who need to be there,’” she said. “I disagree in a really fundamental way with that premise. The kids who remain are often the kids with more complex needs. They are not the kids who are inherently more dangerous or who are less redeemable. They are kids we could reach in other ways. And the reality is, we’ve chosen not to.” Listen to the interview.