This is also what I was wondering. The first thing I was looked for was raw numbers. I found those here [1]. Nationwide youth confinement dropped 41% from 1995

This is also what I was wondering. The first thing I was looked for was raw numbers. I found those here [1]. Nationwide youth confinement dropped 41% from 1995 to 2010. So the next question is how does this compare to the general change in crime rates. A convenient graph with those data is available here. [2] And we see there has been an overall 36% drop in crime rates. And so, lacking any confounding data, it would seem to be almost fully explained by the general drop in crime. Of course now that begs the question of what's causing that drop, but that's a more actively researched question and it appears that the answer to that could likely also explain this. [1] - https://www.aecf.org/resources/youth-incarceration-in-the-united-states/ https://www.aecf.org/resources/youth-incarceration-in-the-un... [2] - http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm