Forty-two hours spent in solitary confinement didn’t make “Jake,” an anonymous student at Berkeley High School, regret dealing cocaine, marijuana, and LSD, the actions that landed him in juvenile hall in the first place.
Though he is no longer in juvenile hall, Jake was last sent to Alameda County’s facility this past November, making it the fourth visit of his life. Even after his multiple offenses and stays at Alameda County’s San Leandro facility, he said that juvenile hall has done nothing to help him better his lifestyle.
“I feel like I have been to [juvenile hall] a million times,” Jake said. “I know the people, what it’s like, and going there one more time won’t change me.”
After interviewing students from all over the Bay Area who had spent time at either the Marin or Alameda County Juvenile Hall facilities, an essential question was brought up. Going to juvenile hall isn’t expected to be a fun experience, but does the system successfully keep youth in society from committing crimes?
Others who have spent time at “juvy,” their stays did not make them want to change their behavior at all.
Some said that all of the restrictions placed on them at the halls only made them more angry and prone to lashing out because they were frustrated to be there in the first place. Others said they were so bored during their stay that they had no motivation to improve their behavior.
“I hated all of the rules, the school, and not being able to do anything with my free time, which they barely gave us,” said Jake. “At least we got to go outside, but for the rest of the day we were stuck in our rooms.”
“Alex,” a sophomore at Richmond High School who spent time in Alameda County’s Juvenile Hall after attempting to steal a car, said he believes it could be a beneficial program for those who need time to themselves, but that his time there made him frustrated to the point that he felt he was going crazy.
“Usually I would just sit in my room and do nothing,” Alex said. “I didn’t try to fool around or anything because the people who worked there were already so disrespectful and would yell at us for no reason. I didn’t want to fight the system because I knew if I did they would just give me more time. I just wanted to get it over with so I could go home.”
“Eva,” a senior at Redwood, who was sent to Marin County’s juvenile hall after a fight with her mother, said she felt indifferent about her stay there, and that her experience there was so boring that it had no impact on her wanting to change her behavior. Eva also said she felt that that she had no reason to be at juvenile hall in the first place.
“It was such a joke,” Eva said. “It was so pointless that I was there. I can’t believe I had to be forced to wear their clothes and eat their food. It’s not like I’m a criminal or anything.”
Eva was was arrested by police this August after her mother filed a missing persons report the night before. Eva wasn’t allowed to leave the house because of her parent’s rules, but she decided to anyways and spent the night with friends. It was after she got into a fight with her mother after returning home the next day that the police were called to detain her.
“I honestly can say I did nothing,” Eva said. “Everything was so blown out of proportion. Sure I went out when I wasn’t supposed to, but arresting me was ridiculous.”
Eva spent three days at juvenile hall, spanning from her entrance on August 18 and release on the 21, the day before the first day of school.
Others said that they hoped to never return to juvenile hall again because they had such negative experiences during their stays.
“Marcus,” a graduate from Redwood’s class of 2012, said that while his stay last February at San Rafael’s juvenile hall wasn’t his first, his recent experience makes him want it to be his last. Marcus most recently went to juvenile hall after getting caught shoplifting at Saks Fifth Avenue, a luxury department store.
“I was with friends, but I was the only one caught because I was wearing a bright t-shirt,” Marcus said. “They got me right away and I was sent to juvenile hall.”Marcus had been sent to juvenile hall once before after taking part in the group vandalism of a woman’s car.
Marcus also said he never wanted to go back to juvenile hall because of how boring it was.
“All of it was bad. There weren’t many people there to get to know and school was awful,” Marcus said. “Class was so slow and we would be there all day and not get anything done. After a while it drove me crazy.”
Other minors said that their stays did make them regret their actions, not because they found paths to self-betterment, but because they had such a bad time.
Chelsea, a senior from Alameda High School, said she wanted to get in, serve her time, and get back out as fast as possible so she could go back to living with her family.
However, after only a few days at juvenile hall, she found herself coughing up pepper spray after getting into a fight with another girl. Chelsea said that it was the fight that made her never want to go back to juvenile hall.
“I honestly don’t even remember what initiated the fight, but this girl hated me ever since the first day I came here,” Chelsea said. “I guess I did something wrong in the cafeteria because before I knew it I was trying to hide from her punches.”
Chelsea was not the only offender who said she experienced violent behavior during her stay at juvenile hall.
“Zack,” the senior at Redwood who was caught for possession of drugs on campus, said that other people at juvenile hall tried to pick a fight with him immediately after he entered the San Rafael facility.
“It was insane,” Zack said. “The minute I got there, this guy started calling me names like ‘fat’ and ‘fresh meat.’ I had never felt so scared in my life. At that point I knew my life was going to change.”
Alex, who said his three week long stay at juvenile hall gave him little inspiration to change his ways, did say he enjoyed the religious-based classes because they made him feel close to home and helped him reflect on a more positive time in his life.
“When my mom was with us she would take me to church with her every day, and that was my favorite time of the day,” Alex said. “Being close to God made me feel close to her and close to home.”
