NCJ Number
183691
Date Published
1999
Length
180 pages
Annotation
For an analysis of the handling of juveniles in the adult criminal justice system in Maryland, information was collected by means of site visits to five pretrial detention facilities, interviews with 60 children, and analyses of juvenile statistics and led to recommendations for policy and program changes.
Abstract
The research assessed facility conditions and justice system practices according to the standards stated in several United Nations documents. Between 200 and 300 children are held in adult detention facilities on any given day. Jails often lack the infrastructure, the programs, and the staff to handle juveniles. Minority children are disproportionately sent to criminal court under policies that have made it easier to transfer children to adult courts. In all jails, children experience greater risks to their safety and well-being than do youth held in juvenile facilities. Violence is particularly severe in the Baltimore City Detention Center. Female juveniles in adult facilities suffer particular hardships. The analysis concluded that Maryland’s jails are inappropriate places for youth, even for those accused of committing very serious crimes. Recommended changes included strictly limiting the practice of trying children in the criminal courts, separating children from adult inmates at all times, prohibiting the use of isolation as a disciplinary technique, providing specialized training to staff, ensuring education for all children below age 16, and other actions. Footnotes and appended United Nations standards