Lower juvenile crime rates and more stress on keeping teens out of the criminal justice system have resulted in a big drop in lock-up rates in Florida and nationwide.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation Wednesday released a new KIDS COUNT data report, showing a 32% drop in the number of Florida youth incarcerated between 1997 and 2010.
David Utter of the Southern Poverty Law Center says the report shows incarceration doesn't reduce the crime rate.
"Research is very, very clear that it doesn't work in the vast majority of circumstances, that community-based alternatives, family-focused interventions are much more effective."
Nationally, the drop in teen incarceration was 37% between 1997 and 2010 – to the lowest rate in 35 years.