Completed with the Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee
- Bias inside the judicial system, school system etc. (Implicit and explicit)
- Transfer of things previously handled inside schools to being handled by the juvenile justice system
- Lack of understanding of cultural issues/differences
- Poverty
- Lack of education across the board
- Preconcieved notions/concepts about certain races (i.e. what community they live in and correlating expectations)
- Lack of resources and access to services in certain parts of the county - programming, affordable after school care, jobs, transportation, mentoring programs
- Lack of community centers, hubs of activity or alternatives to gangs, drugs, violence (B&G clubs, Y, sports teams, recreation)
- Outdated juvenile laws
- Outdated standards - youth don't behave in the same ways now as they did 30 years ago (lack of recognition for cultural shifts/social mores)
- Poor parenting/lack of partnerships with parents/lack of parent engagement (parents - schools - law enforcement)
- Relationship between the community and the schools that serve the community
- Peer pressure - group dynamics vs. individual dynamics and social expectations among adolescents
- Mental Health issues
- Substance use/abuse
- Roles that media/social media/peers/parents play in perceptions of law enforcement and what children are taught or exposed to about law enforcement (i.e. "the police hate you" or "the police are out to get you")
- Poor reporting by the media ("alternative facts" and the sensationalizing of violence)
- Officers have limited choices - legal requirements, policy requirements? Strict guidelines that must be followed.
- Parental connections - or lack thereof - where the process can be circumvented
- Need more diversion strategies
- Lack of mentoring
- Lack of consistency in offering the same opportunities to all youth in all circumstances
- Need better relationships between community supports and schools (like diversion programs)
- Lack of awareness at the community level that this is a problem
- Specific issues in African American neighborhoods/communities contributing to rise in criminal behavior
- Need more people trained in conflict resolution strategies
- Gang issues
- Atrophied fear of death, imprisonment, etc. and lack of respect for anyone/lack of empathy
- Cultural issues around respect/relationships and "street code" in conflict with more traditional community values (loyalty, honor, respect)