NCJ Number
215318
Date Published
May 2006
Length
82 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on the felony rearrests (recidivism) of juveniles in Delaware for fiscal year 2004 and the period from fiscal years 1995 through 2005; the juveniles included in the study had been released from either a locked secure facility, a staff-secure facility, or a nonsecure residential program.
Abstract
In fiscal year 2004, 45 percent of the juveniles released from a locked secure facility (level V) were rearrested for a felony within 1 year in the community; 44 percent of those released from staff-secure residential programs (level IV) had been rearrested within 1 year; and 31 percent of the juveniles released from nonsecure residential programs (level III) were rearrested for a felony within 1 year. Over the period from fiscal year 1995 through fiscal year 2005, juveniles rearrested for a felony within 1 year after release from a locked secure facility decreased from 60 percent to 45 percent; those rearrested for a felony within 1 year after release from a staff-secure residential program decreased from 54 percent to 44 percent; and those rearrested for a felony within 1 year after release from a nonsecure residential program decreased from 45 percent to 31 percent. The decrease in long-term juvenile recidivism rates was associated with the reorganization of the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services' incarceration, placement, and treatment programs, which were implemented at the same time as the Dispositional Guidelines for Juveniles in the mid-1990s. Although short-term (up to 1 year) juvenile recidivism rates have improved significantly since the mid-1990s, long-term (2 years) recidivism rates were nearly 60 percent. Four years after release from the main level V juvenile facility, 70 percent of those offenders had been sentenced to an adult level V facility. Data sources for this report are described. Extensive tables and figures