Book review

Although the ability of the juvenile justice system to prevent and handle delinquent juveniles has been worked successfully over the decades, little discriminatory practices have been addressed. Youths of color have been treated more harshly in comparison to their White contemporaries. This is particularly evident in California. They have been more likely to be arrested, incarcerated, and assigned to severer sentence than Whites. This book especially focuses on Mexican, Mexican American, and African American juveniles in two correctional facilities in California to describe racism, abusive facility conditions, and research practices. Six chapters provide narratives and empirical findings from incarcerated boys, their families, other stakeholders, and institutions across the state throughout the 19th century to early 20th century.

The first chapter sets the scene by providing a historical overview of California’s juvenile justice system in the 1800s. The author condemns the abusive correctional facility conditions during the time. With the development of innovative methods for dealing with troubled youths, the juvenile justice system shifted from the familiar community-oriented system to the state-control system. The state’s power to control young children grew dramatically. Minority youths, especially Mexicans and African Americans, were sent to state-run institutions with minor wrongdoings under the name of treatment of unruly youngsters, in which they were treated as though as they were adults. With the movement at the end of the 1800s, California established a large and educational facility, Whittier State School, for delinquent boys and girls. The key historical theme is that the changes of California’s juvenile justice syst...

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...xican, Mexican American, and African American youths have been handled in history. It offers an insightful account of why and how they were more often institutionalized than members of other groups. The book then goes on to condemn the eugenic movement and its tragic impacts on the lives of delinquent youths including unnecessary incarceration and sterilization. Furthermore, the author brings awareness to the widespread popularization of eugenic practices throughout the juvenile justice system. The eugenic beliefs not only encouraged abusive practices, but also worked to decay two juvenile correctional facilities. States of Delinquency is a must-read for academics in criminal justice. Although this book written for readers interested in the experiences of youths of color, it is likely to be of interest to anyone attempting to understand the juvenile justice system.