The impact of the criminal justice system on Black male adults in the 20-to-29 year age group was examined. End results of the large-scale involvement of young Black men in the criminal justice system are considered, and the implications for crime control are discussed. Using data from Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Bureau of the Census largely for 1986, the rates at which different segments of the age group come under justice system control were determined. It was found that 23% of the Black men studied were in prison, on probation, or parole on any given day; in comparison, 6.2% of the White males studied were under criminal justice control. Rates for Hispanic males fell between those for Black and White males at 10.4%. The number of young Black men under control of the criminal justice system was 609,690, which was greater than the total number of Black men of all ages enrolled in college (436,000) as of 1986. Direct criminal justice costs for these 609,690 young Black men were 2.5 billion dollars a year. Major implications concern the following: (1) impact on the life prospects for Black males; (2) impact on the Black community; (3) the failure of the get-tough approach to crime control of the past decade; (4) implications for the war on drugs; (5) strategies for more effective criminal justice policies and programs; and (6) the need for a broad approach to crime and crime control. To bring the situation under control, more is required than changing the priorities and emphasis of the criminal justice system, although that would help. Addressing the conditions that lead to crime in the first place is a broad agenda which requires serious thought, attention, and action. However, it is the decisions made today in the areas of policy, programs, and funding that will determine whether the criminal justice system will exert as much control over the next generation of Black males as it does over the current generation. Statistical data are presented in one table and one graph. A 19-item list of references is included. (SLD)