"Anne Hobbs, director of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Juvenile Justice Institute, said racial disparities exist at nearly every point at which youth are involved in the state's justice system, including initial contact, adjudication and detention.

In Lancaster County, 81.4 percent of youth ages 10 to 17 are white, 5 percent are black, 3.7 percent are Asian, 1.1 percent are Native, 0.1 percent are Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander, 3.2 percent are of another race and 5.5 percent are of two or more races, according to the census. Another 8.2 percent are Hispanic, although that percentage isn't included in the census' racial categories.

The report examined trends in counties, including Lancaster, where it found white juveniles made up 64.3 percent of youth contacted by law enforcement. Native youth made up 2.7 percent, Asian youth 0.1 percent, Hispanic youth 8.3 percent and black youth 24.6 percent."

Get the Story:
Kevin Abourezk: Local agencies combat troubling statistics for minority youth (The Lincoln Journal Star 4/30)

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Kevin Abourezk: Disparity for Native youth in justice system (4/25)