Two authorities on youth and the criminal justice system argue that arresting Indian youth for non-criminal actions, such as causing a disturbance, increases these youths' involvement in violent crime.

In a new book of essays, "Violent Crime: Assessing Race & Ethnic Differences" edited by Darnell F. Hawkins, Bill McCarthy of UC Davis and John Hagan of Northwestern University say police sanctions increase the potential for violence by Native Americans. They note that although native people represent a small proportion of the U.S. and Canadian populations, they are consistently overrepresented in these nations' arrest and incarceration statistics.

Both countries are seeing higher levels of all minority youth committing crimes and coming in contact with the criminal justice system. The authors say subcultures of violence or poverty, economic strain and family socialization are possible reasons for these changes.

"Those who study Native American violence also introduce concerns associated with cultural conflict, alienation and historical mistreatment," McCarthy and Hagan say. They argue that the youths' emotional responses to negative police contact also increases their involvement in crime.

Because youth commit more crime than older people, the two sociologists expect more crime from young Native Americans than from other populations because Indian populations are disproportionately young in the two countries.

Moreover, among all Native American teens, McCarthy and Hagan say the homeless are more exposed to harsher police treatment and opportunities for crime than if they were living at home.

"Negative police contact, particularly involving young Native Americans, may increase the probability that, in the near future, North America may witness increasing numbers of angry, young native youth whose response to sanctions may include explosive outbursts of criminal violence," McCarthy and Hagan conclude.