PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — An initiative in New Jersey to reduce the number of juveniles held in detention for low-level offenses has been wildly successful, according to the state attorney general’s office.
The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative set out to reduce overcrowding at youth detention facilities. It began with a phased rollout in 2004, and all New Jersey counties were participating in 2019.
Jennifer LeBaron, executive director of the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission, calls the program a win-win, as it sent kids home to get community-based care for low-level offenses as they await court dates.
“Those offenses are things like technical violations of the rules of probation, or missing a court date,” said LeBaron.
She said those violations would typically land a kid in detention when it wasn’t needed.
“We were reducing detention populations, keeping more kids at home in their communities and not compromising public safety,” LeBaron added.
Related
She said that the program had a pronounced impact on Black and brown children.
“Results are really quite remarkable,” she said. “We’ve seen youth detention populations drop by 74%, with youth of color accounting for almost 90% of the decrease.”
They entered this study fully aware that reducing the detention population could potentially have a negative impact on public safety, but she said there was no detrimental effect.
Related
LeBaron said the rate of repeat offenders has remained the same, at around 5%.
“If we saw results that were any different, we’d have a hard time continuing to make the argument that this is in fact the right thing to do,” she explained.
“For the thousands of young people who have avoided detention, it’s pretty extraordinary.”
LeBaron says this was the most rewarding work of her career.