It’s Expensive to Keep Juvenile Detention Centers Open, Especially When They’re Nearly Empty

An investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle found juvenile detention centers across California were nearly empty but the costs to run these facilities have skyrocketed. In San Francisco, it cost $266,000 to keep a kid locked up at juvenile hall. There are 150 beds, but fewer than 50 juvenile offenders on average stay there. Now politicians want to find a way to shut down SF's juvy hall. Guests: Jill Tucker, education reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and Joaquin Palomino, data and investigative reporter for the Chronicle. Read the San Francisco Chronicle's investigation on the drop in juvenile crime and arrests, and the rising costs of detention. Want more stories from The Bay? Get tickets to our live event on April 26 in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices