After two decades of “tough-on-crime” laws and huge surges in juvenile imprisonment, there are now sharp reductions in youth confinement, a national advocacy group reports.
U.S. Justice Department data show youth confinements dropped 41 percent between 2001 and 2011. Several states have cut confinement rates by half or more. Juvenile facilities have closed in a dozen states, with more than 50 closed in the past five years.
The California Division of Juvenile Justice now houses 800 youth, compared with 10,000 a decade ago.
The report by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency sought opinions from a number of important stakeholders regarding the changes, including advocates who had successfully pressured their local justice systems to adopt reforms.
Judges, probation chiefs and district attorneys expressed their beliefs that declining youth crime and rising costs were key drivers of the current trend. The successes were driven by legislation, incentives built into state budgets, decisions to confine youth close to home and supervision strategies that relied on positive relationships between youth and families.
Even though there has been a drop in incarceration rates overall, many states have seen a higher proportion of youth of color in out-of-home placements and secure facilities. The March report suggests that even the most successful states need to identify and employ new strategies to strengthen links between families and youth in order to reduce out-of-home placements for youth.
