Juvenile Detention Centers

Bryan Hogeveen

Juvenile detention centers detain young offenders sentenced by a juvenile court as well as those awaiting trial. In principle, juvenile detention center sentences are reserved for the most dangerous offenders from whom society needs protection or for those who are most likely to escape before their case ever reaches the court. Nevertheless, judges often sentence youths who have merely breached probation orders or are in noncompliance with a court order. Most detention centers house an overrepresentation of ethnic minorities and are ill equipped to meet the unique needs of female young offenders. Detention centers are the most durable feature of the juvenile justice system. Even before the creation of juvenile courts, institutions to detain young people such as houses of refuge, industrial schools, and reformatories were present. When separate centers of detention for juvenile offenders were inaugurated at the beginning of the 19th century, child savers and justice officials alike ...

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