Characterized as a “nursery of crime” by the city’s judiciary, San Francisco’s first experiment with a juvenile detention and correctional institution ended in 1891 with the closing of the Industrial School. Although the Industrial School “utterly failed to accomplish the objects for which it was established,” institutionalization remained the cornerstone of juvenile justice policy in San Francisco and California.
San Francisco must move to relinquish its century-old bureaucratic structure and establish a new, comprehensive approach that stands ready to meet the challenges of a diverse population.
Emerging from Darkness: Reinventing San Francisco’s Juvenile Justice System