How does the detention process work in the juvenile justice system, and what efforts have been made to reform detention?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

After a juvenile is formally taken into custody, the prosecutor usually makes a decision to release the child to the parent or guardian or to detain the child pending trial. Detention is a controversial area of juvenile justice-status offenders and delinquents have been held in the same facility, and in many parts of the country, adult county jails were used to detain juvenile offenders. The detention decision may reflect a child's personal characteristics and the quality of their home life rather than dangerousness or flight risk. Of the youths held in detention, 70 percent are held on nonviolent charges and more than two-thirds are charged with property offenses, public order offenses, technical probation violations, or status offenses. The most important reform made to detention has been the successful effort to remove status offenders from lockups containing delinquents. There have also been efforts to remove young offenders from adult jails, such as amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act that mandate the removal of juveniles from adult jails. However, many states are not complying with removal provisions. Some states also define the age limit for delinquency at 16 or 17 and treat minors as legal adults.