Instead , self-reporting crime statistics have been used to overcome the criticism that the official arrest statistics are biased . Many studies found little or no differences in self-reported offending among juveniles of different racial and ethnic group , with some scholars suggesting that institutionalized racism within the criminal justice system is the cause for the disproportionate arrest rates of African Americans . However , Hindelang found that black males were least likely to self-report offenses recorded by the police , with 33 percent of total offenses and 57 percent of serious offenses known to police not being self-reported by African American males , suggesting some caution in concluding that self reported crime statistics accurately portray the actual rate of crime behavior
institutionalized racism
Institutional racism
Criminal stereotype of African Americans