Research from Northwestern University has found that among youth who had entered juvenile detention, one-quarter of Black and Hispanic males are later injured or killed by firearms. This is when tracked across a period of 16 years.
Although young people in general are disproportionately at risk from firearm death or injury, the proportion is even more greatly skewed for youth who have been previously involved with the juvenile justice system. Such individuals have up to 23 times the rate of firearm mortality than the general population.
Furthermore, while firearms injure or kill up to a quarter of juvenile justice youth after detention, those who are Hispanic and Black males are the most affected. There is also a social class factor, in that most of the individuals within these groups are from low income families.
This connection between structural factors like poverty and gun violence was found to be very acute. This is class disparity is connected to social factors like inadequate housing, unemployment and poor infrastructure.
The research consisted of a longitudinal investigation of 1,829 randomly selected youth who were newly admitted to juvenile detention in Cook County (Chicago). It was discovered that one-quarter of Black and Hispanic males were later injured or killed by firearms within 16 years of detention.
The research also established that the rate of firearm injury and death among juvenile justice males was close to 14 times the rate among juvenile justice females. While rates for females were far lower it remains that firearm deaths among females in the study were 6.5 times higher than the general population.
According to lead researcher Linda Teplin, a behavioral scientist: “Youth in the juvenile justice system are commonly viewed as perpetrators of violence – but we found that they are highly likely to become victims of firearm injury and death.”
Teplin hopes that empirical studies like the Northwestern one will help to inform policy and guide decisions around the most promising and innovative interventions. This means to stem the growing level of firearm injury and death, policy makers urgently need to focus on the highest-risk youth, like those in the juvenile justice system.
Teplin advises further how a creative and multidisciplinary approach is needed to reduce firearm violence. This needs to be supported by legal and healthcare professionals, together with street outreach workers and public health researchers.
The research appears in the journal JAMA Network Open, titled “Nonfatal Firearm Injury and Firearm Mortality in High-Risk Youths and Young Adults 25 Years After Detention.”
