Does juvenile detention work, then, and could alternative programs accomplish the same aims more effectively?
According to another study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, increased spending on detention has in fact correlated with an overall drop in crime. The same study however goes on to note that the effects of alternative programs have been both more dramatic and more cost efficient. Notwithstanding the benefits to the public such programs are of course also far better for the youth involved. Holman and Ziedenberg argue extensively that incarceration in a juvenile detention center may severely impact the offender’s chance of recidivism, as well as educational and employment opportunities after release. It is worth noting that identifying prior detainment as a predictor of future delinquency does not, in and of itself, necessarily support the conclusion that detention causes future delinquency as the authors attempt to claim. In the light of earlier statistics indicating that detention spending does have the net effect of reducing, not inciting crime, this claim should pr