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Raise-The-Age Seeks To Move 17-Year-Olds Into The Juvenile Justice System

Should A Plan To Bring 17-Year-Olds Into The Juvenile Justice System Move Ahead As Planned?

If all goes according to plan, 17-year-olds in Connecticut will no longer be treated like adults when it comes to criminal justice.

Prior to 2010, Connecticut adjudicated 16-year-olds accused of minor crimes as adults. Yet research showed youths who go through the juvenile system are less likely to re-offend. So the state passed legislation called Raise-The-Age. Now the state plans to increase the minimum age once more and move 17-year-olds into the juvenile system starting July 1, 2012.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he supports its implementation and his proposed budget allocates $9.4 million to support it. Because of that, some legislators see it as an expensive obligation.

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“This is an unfunded mandate,” said state Rep. John Hetherington, R-125th. “It will require them to adjust their jail facilities to accommodate people. I would favor deferring application of Raise-The-Age because it will be a severe mandate in some towns.”

And that’s as it should be, said state Rep. William Tong, D-147th, and a member of the Judiciary Committee.

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“I definitely support Raise-The-Age and think we should implement it as soon as possible,” said Tong.

Indeed two bills before the Judiciary Committee could derail the effort. SB 1164 wants to defer implementation until Jul. 1, 2014, “in order to reduce state costs and provide municipal mandate relief.” SB 1216 wants an appropriation so municipalities can study the cost of implementing RTA.

“Bills come up and get public hearings,” said Abby Anderson, executive director of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Association. “It doesn't mean that they will get out of committee or go anywhere on the floor.  We know that the Governor's office and the House and Senate leadership are in favor of on-time implementation.”

A member of the Judiciary Committee, Hetherington said RTA poses an “onerous financial burden” for police departments and holding facilities in some of the state’s cities.

“The economic argument is something the opposition hides behind,” Anderson said.

If the act stays on track Connecticut would join 37 other states that set adulthood at 18. Adding 17-year-olds to the juvenile system will relieve overcrowded adult facilities and protect children, according to CJJA. Children in adult facilities are at higher risk for suicide and victimization, according to the organization.

As the law stands in Connecticut, youth tried as adults face the same sentencing guidelines and punishments as adults save for the death penalty. They can be kept in adult jails pre- and post-trial, serve time in adult prisons, go into adult probation.

Each year about 250,000 youth under 18 are prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Youth Justice.

Most youth in the adult system were convicted of minor crimes. Violent crime accounts for 5 percent of juvenile arrests: drugs, burglary, theft, and property crimes are the most common. Also, while the number of adults arrested between 1999 and 2008 increased 3.4 percent, juvenile arrests dropped 15.7 percent during same period, according to a 2008 Federal Bureau of Investigation report.

Many of these youth are repeat offenders. Raising the age reduces recidivism, CJJA’s Anderson said.

And while the juvenile court caseload increased 40 percent, after 16-year-olds were folded into the system, “overall the system shrunk,” Anderson said. Still CJJA expects the caseload to increase about 22 percent during the first 11 months of implementation.

Francis Carino, supervisory assistant state's attorney for juvenile matters, said some of the decreased caseload for 16-year-olds may have to do with the fact that misdemeanors and felonies are heard in juvenile court while motor vehicle infractions are heard in adult court.

"If you have a 16-year-old who's an adult and a juvenile at the same time, it gets very confusing," he said.

Carino said he believes police officers will often charge 16-year-olds only with the adult offenses, resulting in fewer cases in the juvenile court. He said the classification of 16-year-olds as juveniles has only been in place since the beginning of 2010 and its impact is still being assessed. Bringing 17-year-olds into a juvenile system when the effect of last year's change is still unknown would be premature, he said.

Michael Regan, state's attorney for the Judicial District of New London, said the change would not have a significant effect on day-to-day operations of the courts. His main concern is that the change would be accompanied by adequate funding and preparation.

But the Department of Children and Families is ill-equipped to handle the next round of Raise-The-Age, according Juvenile Parole Officer Cheryl Carpio’s Feb. 28 testimony before the Appropriations Committee. DCF proposed cutting 22 staff from its department as part of the proposed 2012 budget. 

“While other agencies are examining approaches to best meet the needs of the incoming “Raise the Age” population in the best manner, DCF has decided to reduce its direct care Juvenile Parole staff by over half,” according to Carpio’s testimony. “I, for one, have never been more appalled and disappointed in a system that I have seen grow to become more therapeutic and successful in its approach to serving its youth and families. Should this drastic cut to over half our department occur, the youths and their families will suffer.”

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