Clayton County, GA., has seen a decrease in its juvenile arrests. The dwindling arrest rate is due to the decline of referrals from school districts to county juvenile courts for minor offenses, according to an article by Martha Dalton, reporter for WABE, Atlanta.
The reason for an initial rise in arrest rates are the zero tolerance policies implemented by school districts in the 1990s, the article states.
Juvenile court Judge Steve Teske has been instrumental in the reduction of cases involving minor offenses that the county courts oversee. Teske collaborated with Superintendent of Clayton County Schools Luvenia Jackson on how the county manages juvenile cases.
Together with Avery Niles, Commissioner of Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, the group created programs to divert the flow of school arrests to in-school resolutions.
“We looked at those offenses that really should not go to court, and then we looked at the supports that would be necessary in the schools,” said Jackson.
Since 2003, the daily detention rate declined by 80 percent, according to the article. Juveniles are now treated more like kids and less like inmates, Avery Niles comments.
