NCJ Number
199478
Date Published
2001
Length
102 pages
Annotation
This document evaluates juvenile electronic monitoring (EM) demonstration projects conducted in Monroe, Niagara, and Onondaga counties in New York.
Abstract
The projects were aimed at determining the extent to which electronic monitoring is a viable community supervision strategy for adjudicated juvenile delinquents that have been recommended for an out-of-home institutional placement. The evaluation includes surveying the attitudes of local juvenile justice practitioners toward the use of electronic monitoring with juvenile delinquents, and the attitudes of participating juvenile delinquents toward the sanction of electronic monitoring. Program performance was also examined. Interviews with juvenile justice practitioners in these three counties found considerable support for the juvenile EM programs. Overall, 96.1 percent of subjects thought EM would be a useful tool with juvenile delinquents, compared with 96.6 percent of subjects responding in a similar follow-up interview. Juvenile EM clients were also positive about the program. Almost 99 percent of youngsters felt EM would be better than a term in a juvenile institution. Over 88 percent of those completing an exit survey likewise thought EM had been better than institutionalization would have been. Client performance was examined after 23 months of program operation. Among the 99 clients completing or terminating the program, 58 percent of clients successfully completed their term of EM. Successful clients averaged 3 to 4 months in the EM programs. Approximately two-thirds of program failures chose to cut off their ankle bracelet, generally thought by program staff to be due to coping difficulties of the youngsters. Cutting off the monitoring bracelet occurred on average after about 2 months in the program. One client did commit a burglary while AWOL from the EM program. The majority of program failures were subsequently institutionalized. Among those likely to have been successful were those with a school classification of Emotionally Disturbed or Special Education student. Clients with a father or stepfather in the home, and those that had committed a violent offense or an offense against a person were also disproportionately more successful than others. Youngsters with a history of runaway and those with a prior Persons-in-Need-of-Supervision (PINS) referral were disproportionately more likely to cut their bracelet. 11 tables, 3 appendices, 11 references