Population in the Juvenile Justice Center

Part of Juvenile Probation Department Data Portal

Average daily population (ADP) is a measure of how many young people, on average, are in the Juvenile Justice Center each day. Peak population is the highest count of young people reached in the Juvenile Justice Center for a given time period. The Juvenile Justice Center population includes youth detained as a result of an arrest, committed to Juvenile Hall, and committed to the Secure Youth Treatment Facility.

The ADP in the Juvenile Justice Center has decreased to historic lows in recent years, despite increases seen since late 2022. From 2018 – 2023, the ADP in the Juvenile Justice Center decreased 47%, from 47 to 25.

The composition of young people in the Juvenile Justice Center has changed in recent years. Prior to 2020, the daily population in the Juvenile Justice Center was primarily young people detained as a result of an arrest. In late 2020, California discontinued the use of out-of-state STRTPs (Short Term Residential Therapeutic Programs, formerly known as group homes). In 2021, California closed its youth prison system, the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Known as DJJ Realignment, this historic reform shifted responsibility and funding for the custody, care, and supervision of youth who would have otherwise been eligible for DJJ to the county-level. As a result of these changes, San Francisco has experienced an increase in the percentage of the daily population that is youth who have been committed by the court to Juvenile Hall or San Francisco’s Secure Youth Treatment Facility (SYTF), which also operates within the Juvenile Justice Center. Beginning in 2022, the average daily population is disaggregated by detained versus committed youth.

While the percentage of young adults in the Juvenile Justice Center has increased, the percentage of girls has decreased. The population in the Juvenile Justice Center remains racially disproportionate to youth in San Francisco, with Black and Latinx youth being significantly overrepresented in the Hall.

Population by Month

Data notes and sources

Data notes and sources

The ADP line on this chart reflects how many young people, on average, were in the Juvenile Justice Center each day per month. The Peak line on this chart reflects the highest count of young people reached in the Juvenile Justice Center.

Average Daily Population by Demographics

Data notes and sources

Data notes and sources

The bars on the bar & line chart reflect how many young people were in the Juvenile Justice Center, on average, each day of the year for each year. The line reflects the percentage of the daily population in the Juvenile Justice Center each year that young adults ages 18 or older accounted for.

The remaining charts reflect the demographic composition of the average daily population in the Juvenile Justice Center by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Age for the time period selected. Data by gender is unavailable prior to 2019, and data by race/ethnicity and age is unavailable prior to 2020. 

Due to rounding error, the cumulative total of ADP by demographic subgroups (e.g., boys, girls) may differ from the overall ADP. Demographic groups with sample sizes < 11 youth in a given year are grouped into larger categories (e.g., Other Race, < 15, 18+).