- Clarifies youth are developmentally different and must be treated differently; the goal of juvenile justice is rehabilitation;
- Law enforcement interactions with youth should adopt developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, equitable approaches—including communication, conduct, and legal responses–that take into account youths’ differences from adults and the special protections to which they are entitled;
- Explicit recognition that youth are entitled to constitutional protections;
- Commit to use procedural justice practices, including additional strategies with youth including expressing care and concern for the youth and avoiding use of predatory behavior that exploits youths’ structural vulnerabilities;
- Acknowledges the agency’s obligations to adhere to the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) when transporting youth to booking and lockups; explicit recognition that the agency is committed to meeting the JJDPA’s requirement to reduce police contact that exacerbates ethnic and racial disparities;
- Explicitly commits to bias-free policing of youth;
- Clarifies the difference between status offenses and criminal offenses,
- Recognizes importance of de-escalation and alternatives to arrest
- Explicitly commits to developing partnerships with youth-serving community based organizations to support youth,
- States the age of juvenile court authority over youth and the age at which arrest may occur;
- Provides definitions of institutions in the jurisdiction that share responsibility for youth.
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