RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina children in trouble with the law are spending less time in confinement and more time getting the help they need.
A report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows a 43 percent decline in the rate of youth incarceration in North Carolina from 1997 to 2010, echoing a national trend.
In spite of the positive news, North Carolina remains one of only two states in the nation that automatically prosecutes 16- and 17-year-olds as adults.
“We see this trend as a potential opportunity for the state of North Carolina,” said Brandy Bynum, director of policy and outreach for Action for Children North Carolina. “It further proves that North Carolina should raise the age at which we treat 16- and 17-year-olds as adults.”
The report highlights the successful use of rehabilitation programs as ways to keep youths out of confinement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites a greater recidivism rate for juveniles placed in the general prison population.
Eric Zogry, Juvenile Defender of North Carolina, said the problem he sees in North Carolina is the number of school-discipline issues that are now being handled by the courts.
“Things like school fights or disorderly conduct, or small-dollar larcenies,” he said. “They’re all being criminalized and sent to the delinquency system, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
According to the report, African-Americans are nearly five times more likely to be confined as are their white peers. The study recommends continued use of rehabilitation programs and changing state policies on incarcerating youths.
While the incarceration trend is good news, said Laura Speer, the Casey Foundation’s associate director for policy and research, work remains to be done nationwide.
“Compared to other countries that are similar to the United States, we still incarcerate our young people many times higher than other countries do. So there’s a long way to go.”
As of 2010, more than 70,000 youths were in confinement in the United States.
The report, “Reducing Youth Incarceration in the United States,” is online at aecf.org.