Age-old practices have slowly begun to shift at California’s Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF) as staff experiment with common-sense reforms, such as positive reinforcement, limiting use of isolation, and providing access to outdoor recreational space. However, barriers towards sustainable reform will exist as long as youth are housed in outdated institutions.
Blog Feb 26, 2013
Part III: Trends in girls’ crime
It was noted in part II of this series that girls who run away from home are often doing so because of sexual abuse at home. As reported in the New York Times an estimated 1.6 million juveniles run away from or are thrown out of their homes each year; over half are girls.
Blog Feb 21, 2013
Who is causing crime in California?
Sensationalized stories and anecdotal information in the media over the past year may make you want to hide behind a closed door. In 2011, Realignment caused great concern that floods of state inmates would walk out of state prison and into the streets. This of course was not true, but over the last year media stories have highlighted concerns that Realignment is causing more local crime.
Blog Feb 19, 2013
Part II: Trends in girls’ crime
As noted in Part I of this series, running away and sexual abuse are much more significant in the lives of girls than boys. Sexual abuse is particularly salient for girls and may well propel girls into behaviors such as running away from home or other status offenses. As already noted, girls are much more likely than boys to be the victims of childhood sexual abuse: it has been estimated that roughly 70 percent of the victims are female.
On March 21 – 22, 2013, the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal, the UC Hastings Criminal Justice Institute, and the California Correctional Crisis Blog will present a symposium adrressing Realignment.