NCJ Number
207623
Date Published
July 2004
Length
130 pages
Annotation
This federally supported report provides a detailed overview of pretrial detention screening practices in the State of Illinois.
Abstract
In Illinois, concerns regarding the ability of the State to receive Formula Grant funding, as well as a philosophical change towards balanced and restorative justice have contributed to the belief that juvenile detention should primarily be limited to juveniles who pose a serious risk to themselves or others. This report provides an overview of one strategy for detention reduction: the use of objective, scorable juvenile detention screening instruments for pretrial detention. The report supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention begins by briefly describing the pretrial juvenile justice system process in Illinois. In other words, detention screening is seen as part of a larger process that determines whether a minor or juvenile will be detained prior to trial. The report then describes scorable detention screening instruments in detail, as well as the rationale underlying the use of scorable detention screening instruments. In providing an overview of the pretrial detention screening practices, semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals from detention screening agencies throughout Illinois. In addition to the interview, participants were asked to provide a copy of the scorable detention screening instrument currently being used. Eighty-six out of 91 interview participants provided a scorable detention screening instrument or written policies or instructions. Overall findings suggest that efforts to promote the use of scorable detention screening instruments in Illinois have been successful with a considerable number of counties using the statewide instrument at the time of the interviews as their primary pretrial detention decisionmaking tool. However, the findings also suggest that certain aspects of the statewide instrument and/or pretrial detention screening process warrant further consideration. Appendixes A-C