Detention of juvenile offenders.
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-1-107
in effect(a) Effective July 1, 1995, no minor charged with a status offense as defined by subsection (b) of this section shall be detained in a jail.
(b) As used in W.S. 7-1-107 and 7-1-108:
(i) "Juvenile detention facility" means any facility which may legally and physically restrict and house a child, other than the Wyoming boys' school, the Wyoming girls' school, the Wyoming state hospital or other private or public psychiatric facility within the state of Wyoming. "Juvenile detention facility" does not include any residential treatment facility which is operated for the primary purpose of providing treatment to a child. A juvenile detention facility may be housed within an adult jail or correction facility if the facility otherwise meets the requirements of state law;
(ii) "Minor" means an individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years;
(iii) "Status offense" means an offense which, if committed by an adult, would not constitute an act punishable as a criminal offense by the laws of this state or a violation of a municipal ordinance, but does not include a violation of W.S. 12-6-101(b) or (c) or any similar municipal ordinance;
(iv) "Hardware secure juvenile detention facility" means a facility used for the detention of minors that is characterized by locks on the doors and other restrictive hardware designed to restrict the movement of the minors and protect public safety;
(v) "Shelter care" means as defined in W.S. 14-6-201(a)(xxii);
(vi) "Staff secure juvenile detention facility" means a facility used for the detention of minors that is characterized by a trained staff to supervise the movement and activities of detained minors at the facility, without the additional use of hardware secure equipment.
Source: WY Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title07.pdfFetched: 10/4/2026