Meetings Steering Committee(Folders 1-2)

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unacceptable actions are not repeated. Polygraphs and electronic surveillance (ankle bracelet) devices are usually very helpful. The ankle bracelet transmits to a larger box which is located in the home. This box in turn transmits to a mainframe in Colorado. In this way, officers are able to tell if the juvenile is where he/she is supposed to be. The boxes located in the home and the ankle straps are difficult to disable, damage or destroy, and juveniles sign a form at the outset indicating that they are aware that such equipment is expensive (ankle bracelets: $500; boxes: $1500) and that if they damage or destroy it, they will be held financially responsible for replacing it. The equipment is currently rented; it has not been purchased. Theresa talked about the rising instances of juveniles being given early release from detention in order that others, whose offenses are consid- ered to be more serious, can have their beds. For example, a juvenile who has attempted suicide by drug overdose and has been ordered by the court to be in detention for three days for observation, may be released after only one day so that a juvenile who robbed someone can be detained. This means that the first juvenile will probably not show up for his/her drug/alcohol screening scheduled for a few days later, because fhere will not be a parole officer present to make him/her show up. When the facility is full, it becomes a question of "who stays, and who goes?" There is simply not enough room to detain all of the juve- niles who should be in detention. Residential treatment centers are also usually full to capacity. There can be a waiting list anywhere from a few weeks to eighteen months long. In the meantime, what happens to the juveniles who need to be there? The question was raised as to whether residential treatment centers are even safe for juveniles, as the media often reports incidences of sexual abuse and other types of abuse by staff at these facilities. Vickie answered that while there is never a guarantee, she and her department feel that the facilities which they refer juveniles to are generally safe, because they have worked with these facilities for a number of years and have gotten to know the people there. Another question was raised: "Even if the juvenile detention facility had all the beds it could possibly want, what would it do to help solve the problem of juvenile crime, when the stays in detention are so short?" The answer was, basically, we have to start somewhere. No, adding 6