Juvenile justice reformer Allen Breed died last weekend at 90. Breed was the former director of the National Institute of Corrections and the California Youth Authority Allen Breed. In 1974, he was an important champion of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act.
“He was a real force,” said John Wilson, former deputy administrator of the federal Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and a consultant with Institute for Intergovernmental Research. Wilson said Breed was a “straight shooter.”
Later, Breed led the board of directors of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for 10 years.
“He helped keep the Council a viable organ,” Wilson said.
In his home state of California, Breed was at the head of an effort to remove juvenile status offenders from secure confinement.
“Everyone felt he was fair-minded,” said Rob Rosenbloom, Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, who worked with Breed in the past. “He was an expert and we all respected him.”
H. Ted Rubin, a former judge with Denver's juvenile court system, added that, "Allen Breed was the best of juvenile and correctional leaders. From a blessing for California, he became the visible and spirited national leader of numerous vital programs, projects, and organizations. Progressives had been intent on establishing the rule of law and due process of law in our juvenile courts. Allen Breed was on our side, and on the side of fairness and the best that could be achieved anywhere and everywhere."