The Comparative Risk of Mistreatment for Juveniles in Detention Facilities and State Prisons

Abstract

Little research exists on the prevalence of victimization among young people in juvenile correctional facilities and adult jails and prisons. The limited extant research suggests that youth incarcerated in adult prisons and jails are at greater risk for physical and sexual abuse (Redding, 1999) compared to both adult inmates in the same facilities and youths in juvenile detention centers. Yet thousands of juveniles pass through jails and prisons each year, particularly in America. Advocates of juvenile justice reform argue that the risks inherent in incarcerating juveniles in adult jails and prisons, in terms of both their victimization and recidivism rates, call into question the legislation that allow youth to intermingle with more sophisticated criminals.

Keywords:

• juvenile justice
• victimization
• mistreatment
• prison
• sexual assault
• physical abuse

The author thanks Dewey Cornell for valuable comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript and Daniel Murrie for his continued guidance.