D.C. Had Larger Drop in Youth Crime During 1990's than Maryland Though D.C.'s Use of Detention Fell Sharply

New Study Applauds District's Success in Reducing Detention; Calls for Smaller Facilities, Better Data Before Building New Locked Institutions

Washington, D.C. - A new study finds that the District of Columbia had a much sharper drop in violent youth crime rates than the state of Maryland in the 1990's, even though Maryland's use of pretrial juvenile detention increased and the District's use of detention dropped substantially.

The comparison of the District and Maryland suggests that cities and states can reduce locked detention without jeopardizing public safety. During the 1990's, the District sharply reduced its juvenile detention rate by 71 percent, while Maryland's detention rate rose 3 percent. During that same time, D.C.'s violent juvenile crime rate declined by 55 percent, more than three times Maryland's 15 percent decline in violent juvenile crime.

The comparative study "A Tale of Two Jurisdictions: Youth Crime and Detention Rates in Maryland and the District of Columbia" was commissioned by the Building Blocks for Youth initiative, a national effort to promote a fair and effective youth justice system, and conducted by the DC-based Justice Policy Institute. The study also notes that, while African Americans make up 32 percent of Maryland's youth population, African Americans are 64 percent of detained youth and 72 percent of youth who are committed to state facilities after adjudication.

"The District's impressive record in reducing detention beds while youth crime rates dropped raises serious questions about plans to build large new facilities," said Mark Soler, president of the Youth Law Center and head of the Building Blocks for Youth initiative. "Rather than confining minority youth in large, jail-like facilities, the District should build on its success by developing more community-based programs and small, home-like secure facilities."

The study also recommends that the District upgrade its data on detained youth before constructing more locked custody facilities. The District's highly inadequate data collection techniques make planning and analysis extremely difficult, the study found. "D.C. doesn't have the data to support planning sound public policy," said study co-author Lisa Feldman. "Before the District plans to build expensive facilities to lock up kids, it needs better information to assess its actual needs."

The Youth Services Administration has recommended the construction of an 80-bed facility for youth detained pretrial and a 100-bed facility for youth committed after adjudication by the court, both larger than are recommended by national standards promulgated by the American Bar Association. The District's Blue Ribbon Commission on Youth Safety and Juvenile Justice Reform recently recommended that Oak Hill be demolished and replaced with facilities that are small and home-like and as close to the youths' home communities as feasible.

In addition to calling for better data and smaller facilities, the study also recommended that the District and the state of Maryland expand the use of community-based programs and conduct a thorough analysis of the overrepresentation of minority youth in their locked facilities.

"One of the best kept secrets in town is that, despite a sharp drop in D.C.'s detention rate, juvenile violent crime is down sharply in the District of Columbia," stated report co-author and Justice Policy Institute President Vincent Schiraldi. "This study provides strong evidence to support a more balanced approach to juvenile justice, including small secure facilities, a range of community-based programs for troubled youth, and a reduction in the District's disproportionate confinement of minority youth."

An embargoed copy of "A Tale of Two Jurisdictions: Youth Crime and Detention Rates in Maryland and the District of Columbia" can be viewed at a private web location at: www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/dcmd, with the username: detention and password: maryland99. The full report will be available to the public on October 23 at www.buildingblocksforyouth.org. For more information on the report, contact Laura Jones or Jason Ziedenberg at (202) 737-7270.

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