Observed violence, abuse, and risk behaviors in juvenile correctional facilities: Comparison of inmate and staff reports

The study examines inmate victimization by peers and staff in three types of juvenile correctional facilities (diagnostic, hostel, closed) in Israel. Querying both inmates and staff, it obtained three main sets of findings: (1) The staffs reported somewhat more peer violence and dangerous-destructive behaviors on the part of the inmates than the inmates did, while the inmates reported more staff abuse than the staffs did. The largest disparity in their reporting was in the reporting of staff abuse in the closed facilities. (2) The highest levels of dangerous-destructive behaviors and staff abuse were reported in the closed institutions; the highest level of peer violence was reported in the hostels, which housed the offenders who were deemed suitable for living in the community. (3) The levels of all the types of violence were similar in the facilities for boys and girls. Overall, the findings suggest that even as the correctional staffs are not blind to the violence in the facilities, the young inmates are not adequately protected from victimization, either by peers or staff members.