Juvenile crimes in Las Vegas are handled differently from crimes committed by adults. Like in many other places across the country, Las Vegas juvenile offenders are processed through a juvenile court to have their cases and heard, and may face anything between home detention and a court-mandated community service program to work off their conviction. This is the case with many minor offenses like shoplifting, driving without a license or disturbing the peace.
However, there are situations where a simple house arrest may not be enough. Some juvenile offenders may be found guilty of more serious crimes, like robbery, physical assault or drunk driving. These cases require the attention of specialized facilities aimed at providing more in-depth support to help these wayward youths turn their lives around. Let’s take a closer look at how Las Vegas juvenile correctional centers work.
What Are Juvenile Detention Centers?
Adult offenders often have to serve their sentence wholly or partly within the confines of a prison facility. By law, juvenile offenders charged with serious crimes are not allowed to be detained in similar locations unless they are tried as adults. Instead, they are held at juvenile detention centers, either as temporary lodgements prior to a final judgement or as permanent holdings until the sentence has been completely served. This follows the principle of parens patriae, where the state has a duty to guide juvenile offenders and help them get back on the right track.
Juvenile detention centers have a variety of features and services designed to provide a rehabilitative rather than punitive program for underage offenders. Besides the presence of monitoring equipment and inidividual holding facilities, individuals have access to competent educational services, physical and mental health professionals, and vocational training programs that aim to give them an alternative to a life of crime. Note that these educational programs are not uniform and may vary from state to state. Additionally, some juvenile detention centers may also provide specialized facilities and personnel for handling juvenile delinquents with special needs.
Tenets of Juvenile Detention Centers
Juvenile detention centers were established based on tenets revolving around juvenile youth rehabilitation. These tenets include:
- Temporary custody, providing short-term incarceration for wayward youths to give them ample time to rehabilitate and quickly reintegrate back into society.
- Safe custody to keep the youth safe. The youth should feel safe from harm or possible retribution for his or her crime while in custody.
- A restricted environment that limits the youth’s movement while still providing ample space to take action towards rehabilitation. Restriction depends on the level of the youth’s crime.
- Community safety, or preventing the youth from causing further trouble towards other people.
- The center will be a place where the youth can be properly detained pending legal action regarding his case.
- Helpful resources should be available to provide detained youths with alternative methods of learning and livelihood.
- Clinical sevices are provided to monitor a detained youth’s physical and mental well-being.
Juvenile Detention Centers in Las Vegas
Las Vegas does not have its own juvenile detention center per se. Instead, it has the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center, a juvenile correctional facility that provides services for all the locations within the county. It is a 192-bed facility with a mixed staff of correctionals officials, educators, medical professionals and vocational instructors.
This particular youth detention center offers traditional rehabilitory services like education programs, arts & crafts, and seminars on self-esteem and crime awareness. Detained youths can also sign up for yoga classes, listen to discussions regarding gang intervention and life skills, and delve into culture studies. Medical professionals care for the detained youths’ well-being, while correctional officials provide security and conduct risk assessment to determine if youths are free to go before or during their juvenile court hearing.
Juvenile detention centers in Las Vegas are a vital part of the legal justice system in the city, providing a positive path for delinquent youths to turn away from their wayward actions and become productive members of society. If you still have questions regarding how juvenile detention centers operate, consult your local criminal defense attorney for more.