New York City’s secure youth detention costs doubled to $104 million between city fiscal years 2019 and 2026 as more young people were detained for longer periods, increasing staffing demands and overtime spending.
A release from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli outlining a new report said the city’s two secure detention centers were holding more than 370 young people in August despite a combined capacity of 244 beds. Detention spending stood at $52 million in city fiscal year 2019.
Longer stays increase pressure on detention centers
The average detention stay increased from 59 days in city fiscal year 2023 to 106 days in 2026. The Administration for Children’s Services attributed the increase to a greater share of young people with complex or serious cases.
The agency relies heavily on overtime to keep its secure facilities staffed around the clock. Overtime spending rose from $5 million in fiscal 2019 to $20.7 million in 2026. In fiscal 2025, the city spent an estimated $337,000 annually for each young person held in secure detention.
Most young people in secure detention are held at Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood or Horizon Juvenile Center in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.
New York’s Raise the Age legislation increased the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18, moving 16- and 17-year-olds charged with felonies from Rikers Island into the juvenile justice system. The city’s secure youth detention population increased more than 400% between 2019 and 2025, reaching more than 300.
The Administration for Children’s Services and the Department of Design and Construction have accelerated plans to add 84 bedrooms across the two facilities by the end of 2027.
Youth arrests rise but remain below 2019
Youth arrests increased by an average of 26% annually between 2021 and 2024, reaching 9,500. That total remained 7% below the 2019 level, according to the comptroller’s release.
More than half of youth arrests since the pandemic involved major felonies, including murder, rape, robbery and felony assault, compared with 30% during the five years before the pandemic. The release also reported that shootings perpetrated by young people accounted for 11% of citywide shootings in 2025, compared with 4% in 2019.
DiNapoli called for addressing staffing shortages and overcrowding while investing in prevention, including after-school programs, mentoring and summer employment opportunities.
Probation and legal caseloads grow
Youth cases reviewed by the Department of Probation increased by an average of 28% annually between 2021 and 2024. The department reviewed about 8,000 youth cases in 2025, compared with fewer than 4,000 in 2021. In city fiscal year 2026, only 15% qualified for resolution without going to court, the lowest share on record.
The number of probation officers fell by one-third between 2020 and 2026. As of April, the department identified a need for 10 additional officers to handle intake. It added two classes of officers in 2026 and plans four more in 2027, but has not specified how many will work in juvenile operations.
Youth case referrals to the city’s Law Department increased by an average of 30% annually between 2021 and 2025, totaling 7,500 cases. The department spent $20 million on juvenile justice services in city fiscal year 2026, an increase of $14 million from the previous year.
Meanwhile, Assistant Corporation Counsel staffing fell 17% between 2020 and 2026. The city does not publish figures identifying staffing specifically assigned to juvenile justice cases, limiting the ability to assess how that decline affected case processing and outcomes.
The report recommends clearer staffing targets, more transparent budgets and public reporting on case processing and outcomes across agencies. DiNapoli said gaps in juvenile justice staffing, caseload and spending data make it harder to assess resource needs and evaluate performance.
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