The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/juvenile-justice/)
Darwin “Casey” Diaz was once one of California’s most violent criminals. Today, the former gang leader counsels at-risk young people. In a conversation with TCR about his new book, Diaz explains how he changed his life.
Youth correctional administrators from across the U.S. gathered in New York Wednesday to create a new reform lobbying group. Their first priority: a shutdown of remaining youth prisons, but that’s only the beginning.
Meaningful alternatives to conventional sanctions are among several ways to reform the justice system while protecting public safety. The director of the Center for Court Innovation provides examples from the Center’s work in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that 86 percent of human trafficking victims in the state were sex trafficked between 2016-2017. An additional 4,209 individuals were considered to be at risk of trafficking victimization during the same period.
A new Urban Institute study argues that it’s both just and fiscally smart for governments to replace youth detention with robust community-based support programs.
Since 2012, the “Young New Yorkers” diversion program has given some 1,000 young people faced with charges an opportunity to avoid jail. TCR joined the newest graduates at Brooklyn’s federal courthouse for a ceremony featuring their artwork—and their stories of hope.
Washington detains more children for status offenses such as truancy and running away than any other state in the country. State lawmakers want to change that.
Authorities in Bloomington-Normal, Ill., created a task force after a spike in opioid-related drug overdoses. But nothing similar happened after a record increase in gun violence, and a grieving mother wants to know why.
As the state began implementing its ‘Raise the Age’ law this month, advocates worry whether the system can handle the extra burden on juvenile detention facilities—and keep the young people safe.
Horrific scenes of what experts deemed child abuse captured by journalists’ cameras, plus a mountain of contrary science, have failed to convince the Chester County, S.C., sheriff to abandon “Scared Straight” methods.