Joining us this week, the Juvenile Justice Director of the New York Corrections Association, Mishi Faruqee. Mishi joins us as we discuss closing the antiquated Juvenile Justice Facilities throughout New York State.

Faruqee told RCL that closing these facilities not only would improve public safety and save money, but it also would address disturbing racial disparities inherent in the current juvenile detention system. Black and Latino youth comprise 86 percent of inmates of juvenile detention facilities statewide, a figure much higher than their representation in the population. About 60 percent of youth in state custody come from New York City, which is also disproportionate to the state population. These young people are locked away far from their families, who should be intimately involved in their rehabilitation process. And finally that inefficient and underutilized facilities should be closed and resources redirected to support the community-based alternative to incarceration programs that have been so effective in rehabilitating youthful offenders.