Recidivism rates lower for those that are held in the juvenile system
Youths who are transferred to the adult jail system are likelier to commit future crimes and be rearrested than those in the juvenile system, according to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The report, which was released by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, examined other studies about juvenile incarceration and found that holding youths in adult facilities does not deter them from committing crimes.
On the heels of that study, the Campaign for Youth Justice issued a poll of District voters that found 77 percent of its respondents believe arrested youths who are awaiting trial should be housed in juvenile facilities and not in the D.C. Jail. Currently, 27 juveniles are in the D.C. Jail, out of 1,922 total inmates, according to spokesman Anthony Diallo. The jail offers several programs for its juvenile inmates, including education, mentoring and anger management.
Liz Ryan, president and chief executive of the Campaign for Youth Justice, said that despite recent reforms to enhance programs and more fully separate youths from adult inmates, the D.C. Jail still may be harmful to its juveniles because it is not fully equipped to address their needs.
“When we talk to young people who have been in adult jails, a lot of them have told us they have limited access to education,” she said. “They’re sitting idle most of the day.”
Ryan said that although juveniles are not housed in the same area as adults at the jail, the groups still have contact at meals and recreation time.
“Studies show that mentoring works — this kind of mentoring is not the kind of mentoring that should be occurring,” Ryan said of relationships between adult and juvenile inmates.
“With respect to individuals who are in the D.C. Jail, the public would benefit from knowing that the correction profession does not solicit its clientele,” said Devon Brown, Department of Corrections director. “Rather, we are the passive recipient of those who come to us by means of the police and a decision by the courts that the community’s safety is best served by directing them to our care and custody.”
The D.C. Jail has come under fire in the past for its treatment of juveniles. In May, 24 teenagers were placed in solitary confinement for more than two weeks, which juvenile justice advocates decried as “inhumane.”
In July, D.C. Councilmen Phil Mendelson and Tommy Wells introduced legislation to end the pretrial placement of youths in adult jails.
“You can’t retrofit the jail to serve kids,” Ryan said. “Ultimately, the juvenile justice system is much better equipped to work with kids.”
