Wired has posted a set of photos by Richard Ross highlighting the harsh reality of life in juvenile detention centers — locations where about 60,000 kids reside each night throughout the U.S. According to the article,
The U.S. locks up children at more than six times the rate of all other developed nations. The over 60,000 average daily juvenile lockups, a figure estimated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), are also disproportionately young people of color. With an average cost of $80,000 per year to lock up a child, the U.S. spends more than $5 billion annually on youth detention.
The images are at Wired, and you can read more about the project, Juvenile-in-Justice, including a schedule of shows, at Ross’s website. His photos also appear in the Annie E. Casey Foundation report No Place for Kids.
You might also want to check out our previous posts on treatment of prisoners during Hurricane Katrina and overcrowding in California prisons.
And thanks to Karl for the tip about the article!
Gwen Sharp is an associate professor of sociology at Nevada State College. You can follow her on Twitter at @gwensharpnv.
Comments 23
pduggie — April 12, 2012
How does the incarceration rate for youth in the USA vis-a-vis the youth crime rate compare to other countries.
I'm also curious as to what's particularly harsh about the timeout room.
intresingissue — April 12, 2012
I think that those centers are just a waste of time and tax payers money if a teenanger acts out figures that parents should be able discipline their own child but thanks to the government that is not possible. In my opinion these teenangers that act out should be given actual manual labor jobs or be signed up for the military that for sure will discipline them. The reason behind prisons being overcrowed is because parents cant discipline children when they act out or because they are sent to juvenile places sorrounded by worst off children that just end up corrupting others. The article was very informative but what are the rates between the USA and other countries. I am intrested in seeing if the USA is actually harsher on these misbehaving children than other countries like for example Russia or China.
Anonymous — April 12, 2012
It's hard to imagine how treating any human being, let alone a child, in this manner could be justified. These kids aren't hardcore serial killers, some of them are even institutionalized for truancy! It's absurd and I don't know how anyone in good faith could support this system. Mediation is something that we don't use enough in cases of assault and theft with youths, as is often used in Europe. Too often we just think we should lock kids up, which basically guarantees they will be hardened criminals by the time they get out and then they can go to the even more shameful adult prisons.
Just as a random cultural plug, if the excellent new Belgium film from the Dardenne brothers "The Kid with a Bike" is playing in your neighborhood I highly recommend checking it out. Aside from being a fantastic film, it's also eye-opening on how Belgium handles foster care and juvenile criminal justice - both look like models we should try emulating here.
Measuring Human Rights (30): Distortions Caused by the Exclusion of Prisoners | P.a.p.-Blog, Human Rights Etc. — October 12, 2012
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