Michigan Jails Minors For Noncriminal Offenses At Double National Rate
KEY POINTS
Michigan detains minors for noncriminal offenses at double the national rate, for as little as foul language
Other states and even some counties within Michigan prove it s possible to keep kids in their communities
A lack of centralized leadership or data allows counties to set their own rules and not report numbers
An investigation by ProPublica Illinois has uncovered a Michigan juvenile justice system fraught with inconsistencies and soaring rates of punitive action against minors for noncriminal infractions.
The report touches on how Michigan lacks the necessary tools to track the total number of juvenile inmates and notes that what data does exist, paired with accounts from the juveniles, reveals a system without central guidelines that gives local officials broad discretion to imprison young offenders.
About this report
ProPublica Illinois is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to get weekly updates about our work. This story was co-published with Bridge Michigan.
Even as other states move toward reforms focused on keeping nonviolent juvenile offenders in the community, Michigan continues to lock up children for minor transgressions that aren’t actually crimes: technical violations of probation or status offenses like truancy or staying out after curfew.
A dramatic example of this occurred last summer, when the case of Grace provoked national outrage. A 15-year-old from suburban Detroit, Grace was sent to detention for violating her probation on earlier charges of theft and assault by failing to do her online schoolwork. Her situation was unusual. She was incarcerated for breaking a single rule of her probation during a pandemic, even as her school district said it wouldn’t penalize students and the governor had ordered that residential placeme
Judges Are Locking Up Children for Noncriminal Offenses Like Repeatedly Disobeying Their Parents and Skipping School ProPublica 12/22/2020
This story was co-published with Bridge Michigan.
In Michigan, judges have sent children to locked detention centers for refusing to take medication or failing to attend online class. For testing positive for using marijuana. For repeatedly disobeying their parents.
Even as other states move toward reforms focused on keeping nonviolent juvenile offenders in the community, Michigan continues to lock up children for minor transgressions that aren’t actually crimes: technical violations of probation or status offenses like truancy or staying out after curfew.
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica Illinois is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. Sign up for The ProPublica Illinois newsletter for weekly updates.
In Michigan, judges have sent children to locked detention centers for refusing to take medication or failing to attend online class. For testing positive for using marijuana. For repeatedly disobeying their parents.
Even as other states move toward reforms focused on keeping nonviolent juvenile offenders in the community, Michigan continues to lock up children for minor transgressions that aren’t actually crimes: technical violations of probation or status offenses like truancy or staying out after curfew.