NCJ Number
149370
Date Published
1993
Length
79 pages
Annotation
This report of the Utah Detention Study Committee assesses current juvenile detention practices and recommends ways to improve them.
Abstract
The committee found that the number of youth at risk for delinquency in Utah is at an all-time high. Currently, there are approximately 290,000 youth in Utah from the ages of 10 through 17. Overcrowding is a problem in a number of Utah's detention centers. The Salt Lake Detention Center and Moweda Youth Home account for 58 percent of all detention admissions statewide. Overcrowding occurred in the Salt Lake Detention Center 98 percent of all nights and the Moweda Youth Home 51 percent of all nights during fiscal year 1993. Ethnic minorities are overrepresented in juvenile detention admissions. Hispanics account for 4.3 percent of Utah's school age population and 16.3 percent of all admissions to detention in fiscal year 1993. Youth of color account for 8.2 percent of all youth in Utah and 27.5 percent of statewide detention admissions. Youth of color stay in detention longer than white juveniles. Ethnic minority staff are underrepresented in juvenile detention centers and do not reflect the ethnic characteristics of the population they serve. Committee recommendations are in 14 areas. They include alternatives to detention; constructions of additional secure beds; the development of juvenile receiving centers; statutory provisions; and ethnic minority youth detention staff, probation officers, and juvenile court judges. Other recommendations pertain to rural issues; statewide detention admission guidelines; youth corrections mission statement, policies, and procedures; and community/neighborhood based prevention programs. A minority report is included.