Almost 50 percent of all black males and more than 40 percent of white males in the United States have been arrested by their 23rd birthday, according to a new study, the International Business Times reports.
The study, published in the journal Crime & Delinquency, analyzed national data from 1997 to 2008 of teens and young adults and their arrest histories, ranging from minor infractions such as truancy to more violent offenses, and found racial and gender disparities across the group.
According to the Times, the study noted that by 18 years of age, 30 percent of black males, 26 percent of Hispanic males and 22 percent of white males have been arrested. By age 23, those percentages increase to 49 percent for black males, 44 percent for Hispanic males and 38 percent for their white counterparts.
"A problem is that many males—especially black males—are navigating the transition from youth to adulthood with the baggage and difficulties from contact with the criminal-justice system," Robert Brame, the study's lead author and a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina, said. "Criminal records that show up in searches can impede employment, reduce access to housing, thwart admission to and financing for higher education and affect civic and volunteer activities such as voting or adoption. They also can damage personal and family relationships."
With teenage girls and young women, racial differences aren’t as significant. At age 18, the percentages are remarkably close across ethnicities: 12 percent of white females have been arrested, along with 11.9 percent of black and 11.8 percent of Hispanic females. At age 23, about 20 percent of white females have been arrested, with Hispanic and black females following closely behind at 18 percent and 16 percent respectively.
Read more at the International Business Times.