Stoneleigh Fellow and Philadelphia Inquirer journalist Samantha Melamed has published an article further covering the state of youth justice in Philadelphia.
An Inquirer investigation found Philadelphia has become an outlier in its rate of youth incarceration, as cities across the country have worked to curb reliance on institutions rife with abuse.
Philadelphia prosecutors say they’re only doing what’s necessary to keep up with the gun crisis, noting one in four juvenile cases now involves a firearm. Defense lawyers point to data showing Philly still locks up kids who are assessed as low risk, and cite concerning examples, such as a child held in detention for the alleged theft of his uncle’s dog, months after the uncle and his pet had been reunited.
The investigation found that, despite some progress, many Philly kids end up in dangerous institutions, even when the system’s own assessments deem the youths low risk or appropriate to release.
