NCJ Number
141873
Date Published
1993
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) was mandated by Congress to evaluate conditions of confinement for juveniles, to determine the extent to which those conditions meet recognized national standards, and to recommend improvements.
Abstract
The study was conducted during a period of rapid increases in rates of serious and violent juvenile crime; arrests for violent juvenile offenses and drug-related crimes have risen sharply and many States have increased the severity of sanctions for serious juvenile offenders. In many jurisdictions, serious juvenile offenders are frequently tried as adults. Admissions to juvenile facilities reached a high of 690,000 in 1990; the largest increase was in detention. Between 1987 and 1991, the proportion of minorities among confined juveniles rose from 53 percent to 63 percent, with the largest increases among blacks and Hispanics. The proportion of assaultive offenses rose, while the proportion of property crimes decreased. By 1987, 36 percent of confined juveniles were held in overcrowded facilities. This report identified three major themes. Problems in juvenile institutions, especially in terms of living space, health care, security, and control of suicidal behavior, are substantial and widespread. The findings dispute the assumption that high levels of conformance to national standards lead to improved confinement conditions. Finally, deficiencies were found to be widely distributed across facilities. OJJDP offered 19 recommendations for improving juvenile correctional institutions. 2 tables