NCJ Number
208883
Date Published
November 2004
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This report examines the current state of juvenile detention in Pennsylvania, specifically the admissions and utilization of juvenile detention.
Abstract
Juvenile detention in Pennsylvania provides safe, short-term care and custody for juvenile offenders who cannot be left in the community while waiting court processing. However, due to many factors, such as cost and disruption to family life, secure detention should be used sparingly. This bulletin attempts to present an analysis of data on secure detention in Pennsylvania and identify gaps and recommend improvements in the availability and quality of data on the utilization of detention. It examines data on admissions to the State’s 23 secure juvenile detention facilities for 2002 and presents 1-year comparisons and 6- and 10- year trends. Select findings include: (1) from 1993 to 2002, the number of licensed secure detention beds increased 36 percent from 563 to 763; (2) in 2002, 19 of the detention facilities operated under capacity and 4 operated above capacity; (3) boys accounted for 83 percent of all admissions to secure detention in 2002; (4) the proportion of female admissions remained relatively stable between 1997 and 2002, but the actual number increased 33 percent during that time period; (5) in 2002, only one-third of all detention admissions outside of Philadelphia involved a juvenile arrested for a person offense; and (6) nearly 25 percent of all admission in 2002 involved youth aged 14 or younger. Tables