NCJ Number
77359
Date Published
1980
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Results of a survey focusing on the incarceration of juveniles in West Virginia's county jails from January 1 to June 30, 1980 are presented.
Abstract
All 55 county Sheriff departments completed the survey form. Responses indicated that out of the 53 counties with jail facilities, 26 claimed that they did not house any juveniles in their jail facilities during the survey period. The number of incarcerations claimed by the counties ranged from 1 in Boone, Grant, Kanawha, Marshall, and Morgan counties to 100 in Ohio County. The vast majority of these incarcerations (nearly 89 percent) appear to have violated the State's strict limitations on the incarceration of juveniles in county jails. Children over the age of 14 may be jailed only if they are charged with violent felony; 16-year-olds may be held for 96 hours while awaiting transfer to a correctional institution. Overall, there is a trend in West Virginia's counties away from juvenile incarceration in adult facilities. Three footnotes and one table are provided.