What is Disproportionate Minority Contact?
Disproportionate Minority Contact (known as DMC) is the term used by the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 to describe racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. DMC occurs when the proportions of youth of color coming into contact with the system (e.g., police stop, arrest, arraignment, commitment) exceed the proportions of youth of color in the general population. Although youth of color make up only about one-third of the national youth population, they constitute two-thirds of the more than 100,000 juveniles in detention and correctional facilities.
