Officials think bias training not as needed in county juvenile system

Cape Girardeau officials think racial-bias training is a good idea, but they do not think the juvenile court system in Cape Girardeau County is biased.

"You deal with the cases in front of you based on facts and circumstances, and I'm color blind to everything else," Juvenile Court Judge Scott Lipke said.

Missouri Supreme court chief justice Patricia Breckenridge said in her State of Judiciary address Wednesday that racial bias training will be included in mandatory judicial programs next year.

Missouri Supreme Court communication counsel Beth Riggert clarifies this will apply to all judges in the state. Judges will have the opportunity to take bias training in the summer or fall as a part of trial college program.

Riggert said Breckenridge was inspired to include racial-bias training because of a presentation about implicit bias she attended last year.

"We each are shaped by our own individual experiences that shape our view of the world," Riggert explained of implicit bias. "You put 10 people in a room, and they might come up with 10 different approaches to the same thing. That's the tendency of humans. I just think it's an awareness that as humans we do tend to be biased in some ways, and it's about finding that bias."

In the State of Judiciary speech, Breckenridge also brought up the U.S. Department of Justice Report in July that stated the St. Louis County juvenile system was discriminatory against black defendants. Details from that report include that black children were 2 1/2 times more likely to be detained pretrial than white counterparts, and black children more than 2 1/2 times more likely to face adjudication than whites.

Juvenile officer Randy Rhodes said his office has had a minority-diversion program for four years in an attempt to address an imbalance in the system. He said there still are disproportionately more black children referred to the juvenile office, and he cannot say exactly why there is a disparity between the ratio of black children in the county and the number of black children in the juvenile system. Rhodes said his department has made it a mission to avoid adjudication whenever possible.

The diversion program in Cape Girardeau County includes a child being under the guidance of a staff member for four to six months, and children are required to take part in training programs that promote leadership, life skills, morals, ethics, community outreach and employment readiness.

"I think Randy has always been proactive with his approach," Lipke said. "I think with the juvenile office, you're constantly look at what you can do to divert them."

Rhodes said his long-term approach to eliminating racial bias was employing a diverse staff of a juvenile officers. Five of 10 officers fall within a minority demographic.

"In my opinion, the best way to reduce racial bias is to have a more diverse workforce," Rhodes said.

That workforce also is trying to promote positive interactions with the children in the system, including trips to Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis and community-service activities that get the children engaged, such like CPR classes.

"If all you're doing is reading them the riot act, that's what you get back," Rhodes said.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 44 N. Lorimier St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.