Teen Inmates on Rikers Island

If you were a teen sentenced to Rikers Island (like Marcus), you would probably serve your time in this facility, one of 10 jails on the island.

Adolescent Reception and Detention Center
Address: 11-11 Hazen St., East Elmhurst, N.Y. 11370

Adolescent Reception and Detention Center was opened in 1972. The facility houses adolescent male detainees (ages 16-18). ARDC has a capacity of 2,500 in a combination of modular dormitories, Sprung structures and cells.


Helping New York Youths, Fresh Out of Jail, Stay Out

This photo and article are from the New York Times (dated January 2, 2007).

Facts about Rikers Island

• There are approximately 13,500 inmates daily on Rikers.
  
• Of that population, about 800 are teens.
  
• Half of those teens are junior high dropouts and half read below a sixth grade level.
  
• Without intervention, 2/3 of release inmates return to jail within 3 years
• With training and education, 70-80% will stay OUT of jail.