Number of Youths Awaiting Trial in D.C. Jail Triples

Dozens of juveniles are being held in the D.C. jail awaiting trial as adults, triple the population of a year ago, according to a study released this morning.

In May, for example, the average daily count of juveniles in the jail was 42, compared with 14 a year earlier. Since October, that count has been two to three times higher than a year earlier, according to the report.

The reasons for the sudden rise are unclear. The study by the Campaign for Youth Justice, a group opposed to putting minors through the adult criminal justice system, said the rise is due partly to prosecutors applying a "blanket policy," trying as adults all juveniles accused of certain violent crimes, including murder, armed robbery and some assaults.

U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, however, said the rise is a byproduct of an increase in violent crimes, including by minors.

"A lot of these crimes involved 16- and 17-year-olds committing armed violent offenses, often with guns," he said. "If there's one thing we have no tolerance for in this office, that's it. We're exercising our discretion responsibly and reasonably."

Although most of the juveniles in jail are 16 or 17, at least one was 15. The average stay was 100 days.

City leaders and youth advocates have expressed concern about the corrosive effect on young people who spend months and sometimes years in the D.C. jail, surrounded by adult criminals and with few services such as education. Only nine of the 42 minors jailed in May were attending school, according to the report.

"I fear we're just creating a more dangerous criminal by holding them with adults," said D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6). "That would be counterproductive."

The Department of Corrections is negotiating with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to place youths charged as adults in city-owned facilities with oth er juveniles convicted on lesser charges. Convicted felons in the District, including those younger than 18 convicted as adults, are sent to federal institutions across the country.

D.C. Corrections Department Director Devon Brown said a change is overdue. The report said some juveniles in the D.C. jail are locked in their cells for all but half an hour a day, with little to do but sleep. Brown said all inmates -- adults and juveniles alike -- are out of their cells for at least one hour a day, as required. But he said the 30-year-old facility is not equipped to provide the programming that youths need.

"They have been charged as adults, but they're still juveniles," Brown said. "They're very volatile. Their behavior is erratic. They need structure."

That's what Keela Hailes wants for her 16-year-old son, Jermaine Hailes, who had been in the jail since January. He was charged with armed robbery, using a fake gun.