Custody Data (1997-Present)

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Q:	How do States vary in their use of security in juvenile residential facilities?
A:	In many States, virtually all juveniles placed in public facilities are held behind locked doors and those placed in placement in private facilities are, for the most part, in staff secure settings. The use of staff secure arrangements for juveniles held in public facilities, however, varied substantially across States.

Security status of juveniles in residential placement by State, 2006

State of offense	All facilities				Public facilities				Private facilities
State of offense	Staff secure		Locked		Staff secure		Locked		Staff secure		Locked

U.S. total	17	%	83	%	7	%	93	%	42	%	58	%

Alabama	20		79		*0		100		39		61
Alaska	*21		79		*16		84		*34		*66
Arizona	7		93		*2		98		*32		68
Arkansas	*11		89		*0		100		*16		84
California	11		89		6		94		47		53

Colorado	33		67		*3		97		68		32
Connecticut	20		79		*0		100		42		58
Delaware	*7		93		*0		100		*41		*59
District of Columbia	*17		83		*0		100		*58		*42
Florida	23		77		*0		100		37		63

Georgia	10		90		*0		100		58		42
Hawaii	*0		100		*0		*100		*0		*100
Idaho	*9		92		*6		94		*27		*73
Illinois	62		38		61		39		63		*38
Indiana	12		88		7		93		21		79

Iowa	29		71		*10		90		39		61
Kansas	11		89		*0		100		35		65
Kentucky	*7		93		*3		97		*18		82
Louisiana	11		89		*7		94		*20		80
Maine	*4		94		*0		100		*43		*57

Maryland	21		79		*3		97		58		42
Massachusetts	23		77		*0		100		38		62
Michigan	15		85		*3		97		24		76
Minnesota	21		80		*10		90		36		64
Mississippi	*1		99		*1		99		*0		*100

Missouri	10		90		9		91		*50		*50
Montana	*23		77		*7		93		*61		*39
Nebraska	*3		97		*0		100		*11		89
Nevada	*0		100		*0		100		*8		*92
New Hampshire	*19		81		*0		100		*41		*59

New Jersey	11		89		7		93		*68		*29
New Mexico	*11		89		*12		88		*0		*100
New York	14		86		*0		100		26		74
North Carolina	25		75		*2		98		82		*18
North Dakota	*5		95		*11		*89		*0		100

Ohio	7		93		4		96		37		63
Oklahoma	20		79		*8		92		56		44
Oregon	9		91		*6		94		*26		74
Pennsylvania	33		67		14		86		40		60
Rhode Island	77		*23		100		*0		*29		*71

South Carolina	30		71		*5		95		78		*22
South Dakota	*15		85		*22		78		*8		92
Tennessee	16		84		*2		98		36		64
Texas	9		91		2		98		57		43
Utah	36		64		*11		89		60		40

Vermont	*50		*50		*0		*100		*100		*0
Virginia	*3		97		*1		99		*93		*7
Washington	*1		99		*1		99		*0		*100
West Virginia	*16		84		*7		93		*31		69
Wisconsin	8		92		*0		100		22		78
Wyoming	34		66		*0		100		55		*45

Notes: U.S. total includes 1,466 juveniles in private facilities and 133 juveniles in tribal facilities for whom State of Offense was not reported.

To protect the confidentiality of juvenile residents all published data from the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) are rounded to the nearest multiple of three. Each cell is rounded independently, without consideration as to row or column totals. As a result, in many tables, the internal cells do not add to the marginal totals. Rates and percentages presented from CJRP are also based on rounded totals. More information on this rounding rule is available on the CJRP Databook Web site.

[ Excel file ]

Juvenile residential placement facilities vary in their degree of security. The use of fences, walls, and surveillance equipment is increasingly common in juvenile facilities, although security hardware in juvenile facilities is generally not as elaborate as that found in adult jails and prisons. In fact, national accreditation standards for juvenile facilities express a preference for relying on staff, rather than on hardware to provide security. The guiding principle is to house juvenile offenders in the "least restrictive placement alternative." Staff security measures include perimeter checks, periodically taking counts of the youth in custody, using classification and separation procedures, and maintaining an adequate ratio of security staff to juveniles.
For each juvenile in residential placement, the Census of Juveniles Residential Placement asked respondents about the "locked doors and/or gates [that] confined THIS young person within the facility and its grounds during the afterschool, daytime hours on February 22, 2006."
States with relatively large proportions of juveniles in staff secure settings among their public facility population include: Rhode Island (100%) and Illinois (61%). Similarly, the use of locked arrangements in private facilities also varied substantially. States that sent relatively large proportions of juveniles to private facilities under locked arrangements include: North Dakota (100%), South Dakota (92%), Nebraska (89%), Arkansas (84%), Kentucky (82%), and Louisiana (80%).

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/corrections/qa08604.asp?qaDate=2006. Released on September 12, 2008.

Data Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement 2006 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: OJJDP.