although Latino youth account for less than 10% of total arrests in each state (8% in California, 6% in Arizona), they make up a large proportion of the youth who are arrested in each state (51% of youth arrested in California, 38% of youth in Arizona).78 TABLE 1: LATINO JUVENILE ARRESTEES FOR SELECTED OFFENSES, 200779
Although Latino youth have a dangerous and violent image, as we see in Table 1, relatively few youth are arrested for the most serious crimes of murder, manslaughter, rape, or robbery. In California, 2% of Latino youth arrests are for these serious crimes; in Arizona, 1% are arrested for these serious crimes.80 The perception that Latino youth are really dangerous, in contrast to the reality that Latino youth are similar to all other youth, may explain why Latino youth receive the most punitive treatment in the justice system. What are the majority of Latino youth arrested for? In the state of California, the top five crimes for which Latino youth are arrested, accounting for 40% of all Latino youth arrests, are for curfew violations (11%), assault/battery (9%), petty theft (8%), vandalism (6%), and marijuana (6%).81 In the state of Arizona, more than 50% of Latino youth are arrested for the top
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