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Reducing Inappropriate Use of Juvenile Detention in Los Angeles County, Final Report

NCJ Number
123976
Author(s)
K Joe; B Krisberg; D Steinhart
Date Published
1987
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results of a combined effort by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the Los Angeles County Probation Department to reduce overcrowding in juvenile detention facilities by using a centralized, objective screening procedure to identify high-risk juveniles for detention and low-risk juveniles for release.
Abstract
The first step in the design of the new screening system was the examination of the existing detention decisionmaking process. Data were collected on more than 1,000 juveniles referred to the probation department over 2 1/2 months in 1985. This information provided a data base for the testing of juvenile detention models and the evaluation of the models used. A profile of the personal and legal characteristics of the juveniles in the sample was developed and used to construct model detention criteria. A computer simulation analysis of the models projected the extent to which the new criteria would reduce detention levels. A model was selected and used for a 5-month trial period in the county's juvenile detention centers. A measurement of the model's impact on juvenile detention levels showed approximately a 15-percent decrease in the detention level compared to the period before the field testing of the new detention criteria. This report suggests how the screening criteria could be improved. 9 tables, screening models, 9 references.