Cost of Jailing Children in Los Angeles County? $233,600 Per Child
The cost is significantly higher than in other big cities nationwide even though the youth crime rates have declined considerably.
A Los Angeles County audit has found that the average cost of incarcerating a youth has soared to $233,600 a year, significantly higher than other jurisdictions, it was reported Tuesday.
In contrast, the annual cost was $204,400 per youth in Chicago; in San Diego, it was $127,750; and in Houston, it was $84,680, the study found, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“There is so much waste,” Jacqueline Caster, one of 15 members of the L.A. County Probation Commission, told The Times. “And no one pays attention or cares.”
The high cost of incarcerating youths is generating debate and putting pressure on probation officials to address the problem. Youth crime began dropping in the mid-1990s, as overall crime rates began declining in many U.S. cities.
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