Juvenile Delinquency Statistics in Los Angeles
In 2008 federal officials ordered the Los Angeles County Probation Department to make 41 changes to the 14 juvenile delinquency camps the Los Angeles County Probation Department oversees. The camps house and rehabilitate about 2,200 of the area's most troubled youths.
The Los Angeles County Probation Department avoided federal takeover by the DOJ by promising to do more to prevent youth suicides, stop Probation Department employees from harming juvenile delinquents and reducing use-of-force incidents.
The draft report obtained by The Los Angeles Times said the Los Angeles County Probation Department continues to fall short on 11 issues, including keeping adequate staff at camps and identifying youths who have mental problems. The Los Angeles County Probation Department has failed to achieve almost a quarter of the reforms. The report covers camp operations between May and October of 2011.
Juvenile Delinquency Statistics
The low staff levels are linked to violence. In June 2011, nine youths got into a fight while only four staff members were supervising 83 juveniles. In July 2011, a fight broke out among 13 minors while four staff members watched 101 youths. Some juveniles planned to assault another youth after 10 p.m. "because of the reduced staffing and presumably, easy access to their intended victim," according to the report.
The number of use-of-force incidents between guards and juvenile delinquents increased slightly over the last three years, the report said, reporting about 3 1/2 use-of-force incidents a day.
Youth-on-youth violence dropped slightly: From November of 2009 to April of 2010 there were about six incidents a day. But from May 2011 to October 2011, youth-on-youth violence decreased to about five a day, despite the number of juvenile delinquents with violent histories and gang tendencies increased.
According to the LA Times, the federal government will issue a final report early next year.
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