NCJ Number
139183
Date Published
1990
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This report presents data and analysis regarding Alaska's compliance with the 1988 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP).
Abstract
Regarding Section 223(a)(12)(A) and (B), which mandates the removal of status offenders and nonoffenders from secure detention and correctional facilities, the study found that in comparison with the 1976 baseline when 485 status offenders were detained in secure facilities, only one instance of noncompliance with the deinstitutionalization requirement in 1988 involved a child who was not accused of nor adjudicated delinquent for possession or consumption of alcohol. In just 1 year since implementation of its revised Jail Removal Plan in December 1987, noncompliant detention of status offenders was reduced 78 percent, from 41 instances in 1987 to just 9 in 1988. Regarding compliance with Section 223(a)(13) and (14), Alaska law, like the JJDP Act, prohibits detention of any juvenile in a facility that also houses adult prisoners, "unless assigned to separate quarters so that the minor cannot communicate with or view adult prisoners convicted of, under arrest for, or charged with a crime." Despite this legislative prohibition, however, adult jails, lockups, and correctional facilities continue to admit juveniles in circumstances where no adequate alternative is available. Most of such facilities are in remote rural areas that lack alternatives to such detention; immediate transfer of juveniles to appropriate facilities is often impossible due to the lack of air transportation. Still, Alaska has achieved a 53-percent reduction, relative to the 1980 baseline, in the number of juveniles held in adult jails, lockups, and correctional facilities. Tabular data on compliance and appended method of analysis and attachments