NCJ Number
169447
Date Published
1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the urgency for respite from what officials in certain counties across the Nation claim are burdensome Federal rules that require the separation of juveniles from adults in jail.
Abstract
The authors of recent Federal juvenile justice legislation have argued that their bill will give flexibility to States in general, and rural counties in particular, to design policies to curb violent youth crime. New mandates to expand juvenile detention beds and changes to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act that would make it easier to jail juveniles with adults are being driven by the belief that the current rules prevent police from locking up juvenile murderers, rapists, and predators. To support this view, the bill's authors brought several law enforcement officials from Elmore County, Ala.; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and select counties in Wyoming to testify that the law's requirement to separate juveniles from adults in jails should be "watered down." The current study shows, however, that crime statistics from these counties show no pressing reason to jail juveniles with adults. The real story from Casper and Gillette, Wyoming, and Elmore County and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is that the number of violent index offenses committed by juveniles can be contained with resources that law enforcement agencies already have at their disposal. Some changes may be needed to fine-tune the system, but there is no reason for the wholesale gutting of a juvenile justice act that has provided some minimal level of protection and security for juveniles. If Congress chooses to ignore the facts, i.e., that housing juveniles with adult offenders is a proposal that could lead to more inmate assaults and career criminals, then they should at least examine the recent history that led to at least some minimum standard for the management of juvenile offenders. 37 notes