NCJ Number
234140
Date Published
2011
Length
52 pages
Annotation
This report examines innovative strategies States have adopted to remove and protect youth in the adult criminal justice system.
Abstract
The first half of this report explains the dangers to youth, public safety, and the overall prosperity of our economy and future generations when youth are tried and sentenced as adult offenders. In the majority of cases, a juvenile court judge has not had an opportunity to evaluate the circumstances of the case before a youth is prosecuted as an adult; and adult criminal court judges often have very little discretion in the type of sentence they can impose on a youth convicted in the adult system. Incarcerating youth in the adult system puts them at greater risk of abuse, injury, and death while they are in the system; and being a part of the adult inmate subculture makes it more likely that they will reoffend once they are released from incarceration. Further, being in the adult criminal justice system carries a stigma for youth into their adult lives, handicapping them in efforts to receive a college education and compete on an equal footing with others in seeking jobs. The second half of this report reviews legislative reforms intended to remove youth from the adult criminal justice system. Strategies adopted by a number of States include limiting the ability of their criminal justice systems to house youth in adult jails and prisons; expanding juvenile court jurisdiction so that older youth who previously would be automatically tried as adults are not prosecuted in adult criminal court; limiting transfers of youth for adult prosecution; and changing mandatory minimum sentencing laws to take into account the developmental differences between youth and adults. This report recommends ways to build on these trends. 67 references