In the United States, traumatic invasive searches are routine occurrences for incarcerated girls. Northwestern University law professor I. India Thusi argues they may be unconstitutional, too.
Browsing: Youth Detention
A report found that schools often involve police in minor incidents, resulting in harsh fines, debt for students and families and records that can follow children into adulthood.
Some 25 states have no minimum age for prosecuting children, and advocates want that changed, saying children as young as 6 should not be arrested for “tantrum” behavior.
A Case Western Reserve University study found that of 5,300 Ohio criminal juveniles enrolled in a behavioral health program, almost all completed the program and avoided detention, proving to researchers that there is a better way to treat youth than incarceration.
An Urban Institute study of Kentucky’s landmark youth justice reform law passed in 2014 found that nearly nine out of 10 youth completed diversion programs and avoided formal court involvement. Nevertheless, race and ethnic disparities in the diversion programs were “significant and persisted,” and recidivism rates didn’t statistically change.
More than 40 youth correctional administrators joined prosecutors from over 30 jurisdictions in a call for the closure of youth detention facilities across the country. A report accompanying their statement Thursday said the over-incarceration of young people increases their likelihood of recidivism, damages their health, and stunts their ability to find employment.
The search goes on yet again for a superintendent of the troubled Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center, after one was fired and another lasted just five hours before deciding the job wasn’t to his liking.
Despite falling juvenile crime, more young Alabamans are being trapped in a “school to prison” pipeline, which helps explain the state’s overcrowded and violent adult facilities, say two R Street researchers.
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.
Kalief Browder was 16 years old when he was arrested in 2010 and accused of stealing a backpack. He was detained for three years without being tried or convicted of a crime and in 2015, at age 22, he hanged himself at his parents’ home. The agreed-upon settlement is for $3.3 million.