Gaston presents secure detention census and Raise the Age data
Gaston says ACS operates Horizon and Crossroads and that admissions, age, length of stay, and charge severity have increased since 2022. As of October 23, the census was 352 youth, with 178 at Crossroads and 174 at Horizon; 346 were charged as adolescent or juvenile offenders.
ACS Opera
two secure detention centers, Horizon in the Bronx, Crossroads in Brooklyn.
Since 2022, after the implementation of Raise the Age and the impact of the pandemic, the number of young people admitted to detention has increased.
And the age, length of stay, and severity of charges faced by those youth has also increased.
Specifically, on October 23rd, our census, the census was 352 youth, with 178 housed at Crossroads, 174 at Horizon.
And of those 352 youth, eight were girls and the remainder were boys.
Just 26 of those young people were age 15 and younger.
The median age of the young people in secure detention is 17 years old.
346 youth were charged as adolescent offenders or juvenile offenders in the youth part of the Supreme Court.
And six youth have cases solely in family court.
On one hand, this shows that raise the age is working.
Judges are not holding young people charged with lower level crimes in secure detention facilities.
On the other hand, we have seen our detention census increase.
And the needs of the young people who remain in care with ACS remain longer, and the reasons they are in secure detention.