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Show JuvoRib Detention The coming Utah State Legislature will deal with the Juvenile Detention situation in the state. What form should this action take? Wpuld regional homes in charge of the State be a wise solution? We have sparsely settled areas in Utah. Would transportation of juveniles to a Central Home serving several Judicial Districts1 be less costly than maintenance of numerous Detention Homes? With respect to state responsibility for regional detention, your attention is called to a statement by the National Probation and Parole Association: "State responsibility for detention is not something new. Fifteen years ago Connecticut started to use regional detention homes (now operated by the state court) and has not had children in jail since then. Connecticut's state juvenile court makes it possible to bring equally good judicial, probation, and detention services to every community, however.small. ' The question is whether the idea . of state-operated regional detention can work where the court is confined to county jurisdiction. The answer is yes." Here is a case history from the files of the Bureau of Services for children, Utah State Department of Public Welfare: "This incident illustrates the necessity of supervision. Four young people were detained. In the middle of the night friends came and talked to them through outside windows and agreed to help them break out. They returned with steel bars and other equipment and, without any interference, proceeded to do several hundred . dollars worth of damage to a new building in effecting the escape. (The same money would have made a substantial contribution toward adequate staffing, of the detention facility.) They also severely damaged a stolen truck in their getaway." |