Graph exercise: black teens face tougher Juvenile justice than whites.

• Position: Brief Article

Justice in the United States is supposed to be dispensed equally, without regard to the lawbreaker's race. But a number of government and private studies have found that African-American teens often receive stiffer punishment than whites who commit the same crimes. According to one study, African-American teens with no prior sentences were six times more likely to be incarcerated than white teens with the same background. Use the data in the graph below to answer the questions at the bottom of this page.

1. What is the approximate difference between the percentage of African-American teens in the under-18 population and the percentage of these teens who are arrested?

2. Experts on juvenile crime say African-American teens are more likely than whites to be arrested for drug crimes because--unlike most white teens--they commit their crimes on the street, where they are more likely to be observed by the police. How does the graph lend credibility to this explanation?

3. Which four categories in the graph register identical percentages?

4. What is the difference between the percentage of white teens who were granted probation and the percentage of...