Reason Magazine — Juvenile Incarceration — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Juvenile Incarceration

Nationally, on any given night, approximately 81,000 youth are confined to juvenile facilities and 10,000 children are held in adult jails and prisons. Approximately 1 in 10 young male high school dropouts is incarcerated or in juvenile detention. For African Americans, that number is 1 in 4. Research shows that just over two million youth under the age of 18 were arrested in 2008. Of these two million, about 95 percent had not been accused of violent crimes. In 2010, of the nearly 100,000 youth under the age of 18 who were serving time in a juvenile residential placement facility, 26 percent had been convicted of property crimes only, such as burglary, arson, or theft. Access to education both stems the tide of incarceration and improves inmates chances of re-acclimating to society after their release.

13-Year-Olds Who Trick or Treat in Chesapeake, Virginia, Face Fines, Possible Jail Time

“These rules are turning a holiday that used to celebrate childhood independence—out they went, on their own, to get to know their neighbors, to get brave by facing the dark, to get goodies by being bold and ringing doorbells—into an orgy of adult supervision, regulation, and anxiety. The time frame gets shorter as the rules grow, all seemingly based on the idea that anyone above age 12 is a potential hooligan, anyone under age 12 is a potential victim, and any semblance of fun must be thrown out faster than a Kit Kat bar with a slightly torn wrapper.“

Reason Magazine

October 8, 2018

OvercriminalizationPhillip ReevesOctober 8, 2018Reason Magazine, VirginiaComment

Juvenile Incarceration

Galsworthy CJR Program

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