Number of juveniles detained in Butte County dropping yearly

Juvenile delinquency is down in Butte County and has been dropping for the last decade. The same is true across the state, and it’s showing up in all types of cases from felonies to misdemeanors.

Despite this trend, however, the costs to house detained juveniles continues to increase. While total convictions for juvenile crime in Butte County have dropped over 60% in the last decade, annual spending on Juvenile Hall grew by over $500,000 in just the last three years.

Data gathered from reports by the Butte County District Attorney’s office on the number of received and filed juvenile cases demonstrate a drop each year since 2009. This decrease corresponds with statewide data for juvenile delinquency cases.

The results, counting both misdemeanor and felony cases, showed an overall steady decline. From 2009 to 2018:

- Felonies decreased from 342 to 154

-Misdemeanors decreased from 338 to 99

-680 convictions total decreased to 253

-577 filed cases in 2009 dropped to 186 total filed cases in 2018.

The statewide reports filed by Butte County Superior Court for 2018 also confirmed these numbers. The report for fiscal year 2016-2017 showed 32,806 juvenile delinquency cases and 41,701 dependency cases.

In this same report, the Court of Appeals reported that 89% of juvenile cases were affirmed during fiscal 2017 as compared to 92% in 2016. Both repealed and dismissed cases increased about 1% each year.

Judging by the data, this is not just a Butte County phenomenon. The numbers are similar across California.

Even as the number of arrests have gone down, the cost to place a child in detention has skyrocketed.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, in Butte County the cost to house a juvenile is $178,485 annually -- one of the lowest figures from counties throughout the state where the highest figures from counties like Santa Clara exceed $500,000 per juvenile.  

Dwayne Martin, probation program manager in Butte County, reported that the daily cost to house a juvenile is currently about $489 per bed. Juvenile Hall is currently budgeted for a facility of 60 beds.

The budget for Juvenile Hall has increased each year. The adopted budget for juvenile facilities in fiscal year 2018-19 is $6,147,846, compared to the actual budget for 2017-18 of $5,888,388 and $5,612,978 in 2016-17.

Joshua Owens, deputy district attorney, weighed in on some of these numbers. He explained that minors are not convicted of crimes but are considered adjudicated wards of the state and are detained in the Butte County Juvenile Hall. These detentions can occur based on multiple factors, such as seriousness of the crime, past history, risk assessment and whether it is deemed necessary to assist in the ward’s rehabilitation.

Prior to ordering a ward to be detained as part of deposition,“the court is required to have probation do a full social study report on the minor in order to determine that would be best for the minor,” he said.

This was confirmed by Melissa Williams at Butte County Probation, who said this is why it’s important to understand the difference between detainment and dependency when wards’ cases are being reviewed.

Owens and Martin had few explanations for why the costs continue to rise despite the steadily decreasing number of juveniles detained.

Owens confirmed the numbers have remained low, and in fact, the total of 16 minors currently housed in Juvenile Hall is slightly above average for the county’s usual totals. He said he is not sure why they have steadily decreased or if this will have an effect on how the hall is being funded by the county.

Martin said he thinks more rehabilitation programs and overall programs in education that target adolescents have probably helped decrease the numbers.

“We used to dedicate all our beds to detention and with little regard to a youths risk to reoffend,” he said. “Now through the use of risk and need assessments, we are focusing our efforts on our higher risk and need populations. By adopting these newer programs, we avoid sending youth to group home placement (CAMP) and help to avoid young adults form going deeper in the Adult Criminal Justice system.”

Martin also cited research from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), which details the decline of juvenile arrests with each generation. Its research found that youth arrests for violent crimes have fallen to less than half the rate in 1990. The 2016 arrest rate of youth for violent crimes (including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and kidnapping), for example, fell to 56 percent below the 1990 rate and 68 percent below the 1975 rate.

Martin said there are a number of factors for these decreases in arrests. More programs across the state, for example, have been focused on the rehabilitation of juveniles with more programs offered that can address different cases.

“We are running three separate programs, a detention pod (20 beds), a camp pod (15 beds) and a transitional aged youth, or TAY pod (young adult diversion) 20 beds,” Martin said. “The TAY program is run without an additional funding source and few additional funds are provided for a CAMP program.”

For the time being, the money provided for Juvenile Hall to continue running continues to rise. It’s uncertain whether the steady decline of detention cases will cause changes in how juveniles are housed. Martin said. But as more programs are offered, counties across California will need to address the large facilities that stand nearly emptied and decide whether to keep paying for them.