Reducing Juvenile Detention Rates or Expanding the Official Control Nets: An Evaluation of a Legislative Reform Effort

Abstract

Reform-oriented laws in the area of juvenile justice, despite their specific intent, generally have negative as well as positive potential. Changes in law designed to reduce the juvenile population under state control are a case in point. Research shows that the effect of such laws often is to increase rather than decrease the number of juveniles subject to official control. When the effect of a law designed to reduce the population of juveniles under state control is to cause that population to increase, it is commonly called “net widening.” The present study examines a recent change in Florida's juvenile detention law that was designed, in part, to reduce overcrowding in the state's secure detention facilities.