90% of minors tried as adults in New Jersey are black or Latino

While white children commit the same crimes as black children, national research shows prosecutors do not seek to try white children as adults at the same rates. That pattern is exaggerated in New Jersey, where minors who commit crimes such as robbery, drug trafficking or homicide can be tried as adults – but that only happens at a prosecutor’s request. According to an analysis by WNYC Radio, 692 minors were tried as adults in the state in the past five years. The youngest were 14 years old when charged, and almost 90% were black or Latino.