The number of youth held in juvenile justice facilities fell from 108,800 to 27,600 between 2000 and 2022 — a 75% decline.
But public opinion often lags behind these realities, wrongly assuming both that crime is perpetually increasing and that youth offending is routinely violent — when in fact, most youth offenses are low-level, nonviolent offenses. The 21st century has witnessed significant declines in youth offending, arrests, and incarceration.
Still, the racial disparities in our legal system are appalling. We can do so much more for all our children and adolescents, starting with finding alternative programs outside of the courts that have been shown to work better for youth and their communities.
That’s why The Sentencing Project is working relentlessly with our partners to advance youth justice. But these efforts are only possible with your partnership.
Will you make your gift before midnight tomorrow while it will be triple-matched to make 3X the impact?
—The Sentencing Project
