Juvenile Justice in the News – Challenges, Issues and Solutions

By Kim Brent, Staff writer – Beaumont Enterprise – January 19, 2025

Youth crime has filled headlines in recent years and increasing reports of violent crimes in particular has raised eyebrows among local officials and residents who want the answers to seemingly simple questions — why is this happening and what can Beaumont do to reverse the trend.
Juvenile crime year in review:
The first recorded juvenile crime of 2024 involved assault with a deadly weapon and was followed by other high-profile reports, including a 15-year-old’s August arrest in connection with a Port Arthur shooting and teens as young as 15 and 16 involved in a stolen vehicle and police chase in October. . . Two days into the start of 2024, Beaumont police already logged seven calls related to youth 16 and under. These ranged from contact with a juvenile — to assaults, robberies, trespassing, runaways and sexual assaults. . .
By early November, Beaumont police had reported more than 850 juvenile interactions, over 400 of which fell within Department of Justice’s guidelines for “violent crimes.” Nearly three-dozen of those interactions involved weapons and 72 sexual assaults, including forcible rape, were reported.
https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/beaumont-community-seeks-solutions-youth-crime-19918666.php

By Mekenna Earnhart – January 14, 2025

CLOVIS, N.M. — Just three days ago, an 18-year-old was murdered in Clovis, New Mexico, allegedly by two 16-year-olds, who are now behind bars for the crime. It’s a tragic situation that reminds us of the ongoing issues with youth violence, but there’s some good news when we look at trends here in Lubbock, Texas — juvenile crime is showing signs of improvement in some areas.
Lubbock Police Department (LPD) recently shared their numbers for 2024, a total of 1,445 minors were arrested last year, which is 735 fewer than the year before.
Sadly, many young offenders end up back in the system. In fact, more than 80% of youth offenders are arrested again within five years of their release. One person who managed to break that cycle is Lubbock native Tanner Morris. . . .
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/juvenile-crime-trends-lubbock-sees-signs-of-improvement

By Don Jorgensen – KELO-TV News – January 13, 2025              

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  — The Minnehaha County Juvenile Detention Center, or JDC, has served its purpose for decades, but the county is in the process of building a brand new and much bigger Juvenile Justice Center.
After over two years of planning, the county broke ground last April on a new $50 million Juvenile Justice Center, which sits right next to the current facility that was built in 1969.
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“We did a study on which would be the best route to take, try and renovate the existing facility or build new, while we were doing that we found it was going to cost just as much to renovate it as it was to build so we chose to build at that time,” JDC director Jamie Gravett said. . . . The current facility has long hallways of rooms. The new Juvenile Justice Center will have classrooms, a gym, and pods where they can house eight juveniles, which they say will make it safer for the youths.
https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/new-50-million-juvenile-justice-center-starting-to-take-shape

Many of the requests would cover pay raises and new hires for agencies dealing with high turnover and uncompetitive pay.

By Karen Brooks Harper – Dallas Morning News – Sr. Politics Writer – January 11, 2025

State agencies and institutes of higher education are asking Texas lawmakers for $24.6 billion in new money over the next two years, according to the Texas Senate’s chief budget writer.
The requests are part of the budget process that begins in earnest after the Legislature convenes Tuesday and typically winds up around May — when lawmakers pass a budget expected to exceed $300 billion for the two-year cycle.
Notable requests for new money include:

• The Texas Department of Public Safety asked for an additional $1.58 billion to create more than 2,000 positions — including 1,200 new workers for driver’s license offices, 435 Highway Patrol officers and 65 criminal investigators.
• The state’s juvenile justice system hopes to hire 338 employees — including correctional officers, mental health professionals and case managers to reach safe staff-to-inmate ratios. Safety and legal issues have plagued the agency that oversees five state-owned juvenile correctional facilities and three halfway houses. The agency, which has a $1 billion budget, is asking for $95 million for staff recruitment and retention, including more than $46 million for raises for correctional officers and probation staff.
• The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services wants more than 600 new employees to offset one of the highest staff turnover rates among all state agencies. Included in its request for $543 million in new money is $30 million for 141 adult protective services caseworkers.
• The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which oversees the nation’s largest state-run prison system, is asking for $2 billion for pay raises and other projects. The agency wants to offer a 15% raise, noting a pay boost approved last session led to a rise in the number of correctional officers.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/01/10/texas-agencies-ask-legislature-for-billions-of-dollars-in-new-money-in-2026-27-budget

The goal is to prevent young people from getting a criminal record and time in jail

By Tom MacDonald – WHYY.org – January 7, 2025

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said there should be more alternatives to traditional prosecution for juvenile offenders. He hopes to prevent more young people from spending time in jail or ending up with a criminal record.
The move comes after a year that saw a significant decrease in adult crime in Philadelphia.
“We want them to be successful, we want them to increase public safety in the same way as diversion for adults for gun possession turned out,” Krasner said in a news conference Tuesday morning.
King says one example of success is a program that deals with young people who’ve stolen cars.
“We work with individuals for five weeks, teaching decision-making and critical thinking skills. But also teaching them the impact of the law and how it could affect them if they don’t do well in the program,” King said. “We’ve had the great pleasure of having multiple success stories in terms of connecting individuals with forklift certifications, CPR and flagger certification so that they can start to think about a path to success.”
https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-larry-krasner-juvenile-offenders/

By Laura A. Bischoff – Columbus Dispatch – January 6, 2025

Construction is expected to start this spring on new, smaller youth prisons, which will allow the state to eventually close the larger Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility.
The Ohio Department of Youth Services plans to build two, 36-bed centers and renovate an office complex in Bedford and another two, 36-bed centers will be constructed in Grafton on property formerly owned by the state adult prison system. The project is expected to cost the state $260 million.
A juvenile justice task force, appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine in November 2023, recommended that Ohio shift away from incarcerating teens in its three large prisons and build smaller, closer-to-home centers. . .
Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility is the first to be replaced because of its open dorm design, which can create dangerous conditions.
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/state/2025/01/06/dewine-administration-moves-to-close-large-ohio-youth-prisons/77481843007

By Barry Richard – WBSM Radio – January 3, 2025

“Raise the Age” legislation is expected to be introduced in the Massachusetts Senate again this year, where it has found support in the past but has failed to be embraced in the House.
Senate President Karen Spilka, while outlining her priorities for the 2025-2026 legislative session, told lawmakers on New Year’s Day that she plans to bring the measure back for consideration.
State House News Service reported that Spilka’s proposed legislation would “gradually expand juvenile jurisdiction to include young adults up to age 18, meaning people ages 19 and older would be subject to the adult criminal justice system.”
Massachusetts Could ‘Raise the Age’ of Juvenile Prosecution

Between October 2023 and February 2024, juvenile CO vacancies increased from 15% to 39%; of the 118 officers hired in 2023, 79% had left by August of 2024

By Ted Clifford The State – December 19, 2024

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A report from a state oversight agency has laid bare the ongoing challenges at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice as the agency has struggled to turn itself around following a series of scathing audits. The report, conducted by the Legislative Audit Council, an independent body of the state General Assembly, was released earlier in December. It was a follow-up to a 2021 audit that found significant failures that threatened the safety and well-being of children and staff.
Of the 101 recommendations made in 2021, just over half have been implemented, according to the audit . . . It is a significant setback for the agency that has attempted to turn itself around under new leadership while struggling against old problems of underfunding, overcrowding, lack of staff and a Raise the Age law, which has increased demands placed on the agency by raising the age of juvenile offenders from 17 to 18.
Audit of S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice shows agency at ‘breaking point’

By: Skylar Laird – December 6, 2024 

COLUMBIA — The state’s juvenile justice agency still lacks staff to keep officers and youth safe, three years after receiving a list of recommendations to help address problems, state auditors found.
About half the recommendations resulting from the last audit still haven’t been made, according to the follow-up report released Thursday. Department of Juvenile Justice Director Eden Hendrick told the SC Daily Gazette on Friday the agency is contesting that assessment in a written response. She argues that closer to 65% of the recommendations have been implemented, and an additional quarter or so are underway, she said.
Many of the recommendations from the 2021 report that this year’s audit revisited involved bureaucratic improvements, such as revising policies, turning in reports on time, updating job descriptions and developing plans. The findings are not as severe as those three years ago, which found high rates of violence and a lack of accountability for juveniles who attacked other youth and officers; employees with multiple disciplinary infractions or a lack of training; and little medical care for youth.
The follow-up report recognized improvements the agency has made over the past few years, such as installing more cameras, increasing salaries, appropriately disciplining employees who broke the rules, and efforts to change security policies in order to reduce violence.
Staffing shortages remain problem for DJJ, SC report finds • SC Daily Gazette

by Rachel Crumpler – December 2, 2024

Teenagers in North Carolina’s juvenile justice system are routinely being locked alone in their rooms for as much as 23 to 24 hours a day, according to an ongoing federal lawsuit and advocates for young people in custody, despite state officials’ own acknowledgment of research showing that prolonged isolation causes mental and physical harm…
The lawsuit — originally filed in January in U.S. District Court on behalf of the 16-year-old and two other teenagers held for months in the Cabarrus facility — is seeking class-action status to represent the thousands of youth who go through juvenile detention centers every year. Attorneys argue that the state’s use of isolation violates minors’ federal constitutional rights.
“These children have suffered immense physical, social, and psychological harm from solitary confinement,” the lawsuit states in asking for a court-ordered end to the practice.
The N.C. Department of Public Safety, which runs juvenile detention facilities, has filed a series of responses categorically denying the lawsuit’s claims of any policy or practice of regular solitary confinement for young people. However, the department has acknowledged that staff shortages have affected how much time juveniles spend outside their rooms. Deputy Secretary William Lassiter said in a Nov. 18 filing that “administrative room confinement” unrelated to juvenile behavior has been used — and still is in some instances — to cope with “critical staffing issues”. . .
Juvenile detention centers in NC under scrutiny for use of isolation | NC Health News