At the Polls Part 4: 24/7 Juvenile Detention Review

The Moran Center supports the 24/7 review of children’s detention. Currently, when a child is placed in custody, they are subject to waiting up to 40 hours before appearing before a judge. Whether a youth is detained or not has lasting ramifications for that youth’s future behavior and opportunities. Carnegie Mellon researchers have shown that incarcerating juveniles may actually interrupt and delay the normal pattern of “aging out” of offending since detention disrupts their natural engagement with families, school, and work. See Golub, A. (1990), The Termination Rate of Adult Criminal Careers. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon. By instituting a 24/7 review of children’s detention, children would be afforded the same review standard most often applied to adults in the criminal justice system. In mandating an immediate review of a child’s detention, the court provides an opportunity for children to potentially return home, where community and family-based interventions may be put in-place – supports that have consistently been proven to be more effective than detention. The Moran Center also strongly supports every child being appointed a skilled and trained attorney before and throughout a detention proceeding. Read more about this issue from our partner the Juvenile Justice Initiative!