[Long-term research from Northwestern University finds that rates
of firearm injury or death are higher for juvenile detainees than for
the general population and those from similar demographic
backgrounds.]
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ONE-QUARTER OF MINORITY YOUTH IN COOK COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
ARE SHOT, KILLED AFTER DETENTION, STUDY FINDS  
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Andy Grimm
April 24, 2023
Chicago Sun-Times
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_ Long-term research from Northwestern University finds that rates of
firearm injury or death are higher for juvenile detainees than for the
general population and those from similar demographic backgrounds. _

A recent study using data tracking the experience of juveniles who
were held at the facility in the mid- to late-1990s found that one in
four of the 1,800 study participants were shot or killed., Sun-Times
file

 

One in four Black and Latino youths who spent time in the Cook County
Juvenile Detention Center were shot or killed in the years following
their release, according to data from a long-running Northwestern
University study of incarcerated youth.

A study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical
Association
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rates of gunshot injury and death for some juvenile detainees were
more than 20 times higher than the general population, said Linda
Teplin, a Northwestern researcher who founded Northwestern’s
Juvenile Project.

The Northwestern study has tracked the lives of approximately 1,800
teens 
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were held at the detention center in the mid- to late-1990s, a
population that is heavily Black and Hispanic, and overwhelmingly
poor, Teplin said. By looking at data reported by study participants
at intervals since the study opened, researchers calculated a rate of
firearm-related injury and death.

The rate of deaths and shootings among the former juvenile detainees
was higher even than for minority groups that have higher risk of gun
violence, Teplin said. Fatal shootings of Black study participants
occurred at more than twice the rate of Blacks overall, and Hispanic
juvenile detainees were shot at a rate 10 times higher than average.
White males in the study, the smallest group, suffered gunshots at 23
times the rate of peers.

“The findings aren’t surprising when you consider who is in the
Juvenile Detention Center, which is a very high-risk group of poor,
Black and Hispanic males,” Teplin said. “What this says is, the
stereotype of kids in juvenile detention being the perpetrators of gun
violence is wrong. But they are also very likely to be the victims of
gun violence.”

The findings should guide policy makers to move young people leaving
custody into programs that can help prevent violence, including
connecting them with community-based organizations once they leave a
hospital or detention center, Teplin said.

“This is an important population to receive preventive interventions
to reduce risk,” Teplin said. “Juvenile detention is temporary, so
when they come back to their communities what are we doing to keep
them out of trouble?”

Since the Northwestern study began in the late-1990s, 88 of the study
subjects were fatally shot, seven by suicide, 76 by homicide and four
killed by police officers, according to the paper. The highest rate of
gun injuries among study participants of all races came between the
ages of 15 and 19, which roughly overlaps with the ages of defendants
in juvenile court. The oldest study participants would now be in their
40s.

Teplin notes that the number of juveniles in detention facilities has
declined sharply over the years. But the rate of injury is unlikely to
have dropped for the current crop of juvenile detainees, she said,
noting that the much smaller population in juvenile custody today is
more likely to be held for more serious crimes. 

Likewise, the study likely under-counts the number of injuries because
it does not include shootings that happened before the participants
joined the study and did not count multiple injuries to the same
participant.

_ANDY GRIMM is a staff reporter covering courts._

_At the SUN-TIMES, our mission is to spread reliable, independent
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* criminal justice system
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* youth
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* Racism
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* cook county
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