AG Platkin and the Youth Justice Commission (YJC) released reports tracking trends in youth justice. The reports detail positive outcomes in decreasing youth involvement in the justice system and improved public safety. The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) 2023 Annual Data Report outlines the ways in which youth justice has improved since the groundbreaking initiative was implemented across the state in 2018. It focuses on declining trends in youth arrests and detention at the county level, and the related decline in youth sentenced or committed to secure care with the YJC. Also released is a Recidivism and Outcomes Report: A Three-Year Follow-up of Youth Released in 2019, which demonstrates declining recidivism among youth released from YJC custody. Together, the reports highlight a steeply declining population of youth in detention, accompanied by equally steep reductions in youth crime and improved outcomes for youth leaving secure care with the YJC.

“The decline in the number of youth entering and remaining in the justice system and the continued decline in young people committing crime represent a profound victory for youth and for our state: it has made New Jersey safer and more just. The reports released today illustrate that we can reduce youths’ involvement in the justice system while improving public safety, and they underscore why closely examining data is critical to effecting that change. While we continue to steadily improve outcomes for justice-impacted youth in New Jersey, there is still work to be done, and we remain committed to expanding on the YJC’s advancements in youth justice.” – AG Platkin