Six million Americans a year have involuntary contact with the police, excluding traffic stops (Weaver and Lerman, 2010). These encounters are often especially fraught and traumatizing for youth. Young people of color, in particular, have spoken out eloquently about the unwanted contacts with police in their communities.
In Chicago, thousands of juveniles are arrested every year by law enforcement. There are six possible decision points1 in the interaction between police and young people. Police have the power to decide the following:
- Whether to conduct an investigatory stop involving a young person;
- Whether to arrest a young person;
- Whether to release a young person from police custody with a station adjustment;
- Whether to refer a young person to Juvenile Court or to the Felony Review Division of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office for prosecution;
- Whether to release a young person from police custody with no charges; and
- Whether to request that a young person be held in detention until his initial court appearance.
WHAT TO READ NEXT
Published By
Copyright
- Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
Document Type
Language
Geography
Linked Data show/hide