The Treatment of Young Offenders in the American Justice System

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The Treatment of Young Offenders in the American
Justice System

• Judge Tom C. Rawlings
• Juvenile Courts, Georgia
• United States
• tom_at_sandersville.net
• www.tomrawlings.com

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Juvenile Courts

• 100-year-old tradition
• Designed to treat and rehabilitate young
  offenders.
• Punishment is designed to prevent children from
  going too far astray

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Goals of Juvenile Justice

• Increase Safety In Communities
• Hold Juvenile Offenders Accountable To Their
  Victims And To The Community
• Develop Competent And Productive Citizens
• In Sum Balanced and Restorative Justice.

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Goals of Adult Justice

• Community Safety
• Deterrence of future crime, often through prison
• Rehabilitation of the criminal is a secondary
  consideration

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Who is Eligible for Juvenile Court?

• Some states have minimum ages 6, 8, or 10
• The majority of states have no minimum age
• Even in these states, there may be a minimum age
  to be placed in secure detention
• West Virginia 10 for boys, 12 for girls
• More severe punishment for older juveniles.

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Who is Eligible for Juvenile Court?

• All states have a maximum age after which the
  juvenile court must release its jurisdiction.
• 33 states Up to Age 20
• A Few States Up to Age 24

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Who is Eligible for Adult Prosecution?

• In 38 states, age cutoff is 18
• In 16 states, age cutoff is 17
• In a few states, it is 15
• This means that when a person turns this age, he
  or she is automatically prosecuted in adult
  court.
• However, younger people can be prosecuted in
  adult court.

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Who is Eligible for Adult Prosecution?

• 23 states, no minimum age IF the crime is
  sufficiently severe
• In other states, age ranges from 10 to 15.
• We will discuss later how these younger offenders
  can be prosecuted as adults.

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When are Young People Committing Crimes

• Most Adults who commit crimes do so around 1000
  p.m.
• Most children or juveniles who commit crimes do
  so between 300 and 400 p.m. on school days
• This is the hour right after school.

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What Type of Crimes Are Young People Committing?

• 24 Crimes against persons
• 17 Simple Battery
• 39 Property Crimes
• 12 Illegal Drugs
• 25 Crimes Against Public Order
• Disorderly Conduct
• Obstruction of Law Enforcement

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How Juvenile Courts Handle Offenders

• Doctrine of Parens Patriae, in which Court is
  In Loco Parentis for child whose parents cannot
  control.
• Again, idea has been to treat and rehabilitate.
• Punishment secondary consideration

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How Juvenile Courts Handle Offenders

• Probation
• Graduated sanctions
• Community Service
• Suspension of Drivers License
• Restitution
• Mandatory Counseling
• Short-Term Detention
• Group Homes

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CLAYTON COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE
Judge Teske Addressing the Collaborative
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IMPACT OF CAMPUS POLICE

• School Discipline Becomes Criminal Matter
• Youth are Stigmatized with Juvenile Records
• Zero Tolerance/Zero Evidence
• Courts/Probation Overburdened

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SCHOOL OFFENSE PROTOCOL AGREEMENT

• Focused Acts Affray, DPS, DC, Obstruction
• First Offense/Warning
• Second Offense/Referral to Workshop
• Third Offense/Complaint Filed

School Offense Agreement Signed by all Police
Chiefs, School Superintendent, Juvenile Judges,
DFCS Director, and other partners on July 8, 2004
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COLLABORATIVE OUTCOME
90.2 Reduction in Complaints Filed on Focused
Acts
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IMPACT OF COLLABORATIVE-BASED INITIATIVES ON
RECIDIVISM
Reduced caseloads increases the amount of
supervision of high risk probationers resulting
in reduction in re-offense rates
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COMPARATIVE DETENTION RATES (2002-04)
Detention Reduced By Approximately 44 Since
Implementing JDAI Collaborative Programming
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How Juvenile Courts Handle Offenders

• Short-Term Detention
• May be pre-adjudicatory or post-adjudicatory
• Georgia Limited to felony or where child has
  failed graduated sanctions.

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Graduated Sanctions Defined by NCJFCJ

• A set of dispositional options arrayed along a
  continuum.
• Includes three components
• Programmatic
• Structured decision making
• Management information component

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Components
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Risk/Needs Assessments

• The key attributes of objective classification
  and risk assessment instruments are
• They employ an objective scoring process.
• They use items that can be easily and reliably
  measured, meaning that the results are consistent
  both across staff and over time as they relate to
  individual staff members.
• They are statistically associated with future
  criminal behavior, so that the system can
  accurately identify offenders with different risk
  levels.

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Programmatic Component

• Immediate sanctions within the community for
  first-time, non-violent offenders.
• Intermediate sanctions with the community for
  more serious offenders.
• Secure care programs for most serious offenders.
• Aftercare programs that provide high levels of
  social control and treatment services.

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Suggested Program Components Intake

• Case handling mechanisms
• intake hearings/conferences alternative
  diversion such as teen court, neighborhood
  accountability boards, or mediation programs.
• 2. Immediate sanctions
• restitution, community service educational
  programs (e.g., shoplifters, substance abuse
  education) victim impact panels or
  victim-offender mediation.
• Intervention for high-risk/needs youth
• Divert but need supervision and treatment.
• Specialized services for diverted youth with SA ,
  ED, or MH problems.

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Suggested Programmatic ComponentsDetention

• One or more community-based programs designed
  specifically as alternatives to secure detention
  such as Home Detention (with or without
  electronic monitoring),
• Day/Evening Reporting Center, or Community
  Service work crews.
• One or more residential placement resources such
  as shelter care.

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Suggested Program Components Disposition

• 1. A range of supervision/control options,
  primarily community-based,organized into four or
  five levels of increasing restrictiveness. These
  levels should include
• probation, with differential levels of
  supervision based on risk
• intensive probation with specialized caseloads,
  or tracking program, or
• advocate program, or day treatment/day reporting
  program
• group homes, or treatment foster care, or
  wrap-around services or short term, intensive
  residential program (e.g., wilderness program)
  and
• access to residential treatment facilities for
  mental health, substance abuse, or severe
  behavioral problems

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Disposition Component Continued

• 2. One or more of the above community-based
  programs should be designed specifically as an
  alternative to secure correctional placement.
• 3. Two or more of the above community-based
  programs should be designed specifically for a
  special needs population such as females, drug
  offenders, gang-involved youth, or sex offenders
• 4. Youth at all levels o f supervision and
  control should have access to a wide range of
  services (e.g., GED, alternative schools),
  vocational training, life and social skills
  training, and family-oriented interventions.
• 5. One or more programs should be a product of
  inter-agency collaboration in terms of funding,
  administration, and/or operation

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Suggested Immediate Sanctions

• Early interventions targeting non-chronic
  offenders
• Curfews
• Restitution/Community Service Programs
• Mandated groups (shoplifters, SA)
• Family Group Conferences
• Victim Impact Panels
• Victim-Offender Mediation
• Mentoring
• Teen Court

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Suggested Intermediate Sanctions

• For juveniles who continue to offend following
  immediate interventions, youth who have committed
  more serious felony offenses, and some violent
  offenders who need supervision, structure, and
  monitoring but not necessarily institutionalizatio
  n.
• Intensive Supervision
• Day Treatment
• House Arrest/Electronic Monitoring
• Treatment Programs (MST, IFI, etc).

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How Juvenile Courts Handle Offenders

• Long-term Detention
• Commitment to Juvenile Corrections Division
• Designated Felon 1 to 5 years in secure
  juvenile detention
• Available for very severe crimes
• Kidnapping, arson, aggravated assault by child at
  least 13
• Bringing weapon to school
• Serious drug offenses

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How Juvenile Courts Handle Offenders

• Other Juvenile Court Powers
• Power of Contempt to make parents and guardians
  comply.
• Mandated family counseling or drug treatment

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How Adult Criminal Courts Handle Young Offenders

• Waiver Available in All States.
• 45 States discretionary with judge based on
  childs record, severity of offense, and need to
  protect community
• In some states, mandatory based on type of crime

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How Adult Criminal Courts Handle Young Offenders

• Exclusion or Automatic Jurisdiction in Adult
  Court
• Mississippi While age for adult prosecution is
  18, all felonies committed by 17 year olds are
  prosecuted in adult court.
• Georgia Seven deadly sins, is committed by
  child at least 13, are prosecuted in adult court.

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Competence

• Formal Competence
• Decisional Capability
• Developmental Immaturity
• Tom Grisso, Juveniles Competence To Stand Trial.

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Sentencing of Young Offenders in Adult Court

• Adult Crime Adult Time.
• Differences in burglary for juvenile and adult
  sentence, for example
• Blended Sentencing
• Virginia Adult Court could order juvenile
  sentence, adult sentence, or suspend adult
  sentence if juvenile sentence is successfully
  completed.

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Sentencing of Young Offenders in Adult Court

• Where are they kept?
• Georgia Kept in juvenile facility until age 17,
  when they are transferred to an adult facility
  designed for younger offenders

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Problems with Prosecuting Children As Adults

• An example Sex Offenses

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Normal Sexual Development

• In the first year of life
• Most children discover the pleasure of genital-
  self stimulation
• From two to six years of age
• Children may begin to engage in sexual play with
  peers. Penile erection, by rubbing in female
  preschoolers, sexual exploration games, touching
  and rubbing of ones genitals, exhibitionism,
  voyeurism, use of dirty language and flirtatious
  behaviors have been described in normal children
  2-6 years of age.

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Normal Sexual Development

• Middle Childhood
• Sexual interest during the middle childhood
  years waxes and wanes with the degree of sexual
  stimulation and sexually sensitizing experiences

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Growth of Healthy Sexuality

• Intimacy learned through interaction with peers
• Learning personal roles in and out of ones
  family
• Changing ideas as a result of puberty
• Sexual feelings find an appropriate place in
  ones life
• Learning societal rules
• Learning about reproduction

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What Is Sexual Abuse?

• A sexual offense involves the use of greater
  age, force, prestige, intelligence or other
  source of power to coerce another person into a
  sexual act to which they might not otherwise
  consent (Breer, 1987 )

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What Is A Sexual Offense ?

• The offender uses his/her greater power to
  exploit his/her victims
• Criteria
• Age
• Force
• Power
• Consent
• Place

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What Is A Sexual Offender ?

• A part of the sexual gratification obtained by
  the sexual perpetrator arises from controlling,
  dominating, and/or humiliating the sexual
  partner.
• (Breer, 1987 )

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Offending vs Experimentation

• Greater than 3 year age difference
• Sexual involvement with pre-pubertal child
• Difference in status and sophistication
• between the sexual partners

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Offending vs Experimentation

• Exploitation and control are features of
  offending and not experimentation.
• Force clearly identifies an offender.
• Sexuality with focus of control, domination,
  and /or humiliation is not a characteristic of
  experimentation

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Guidelines for Assessing Sexual Behavior

• What are the power positions of the participants
  ?
• Is force or intimidation involved ?
• Is ritual or sadistic abuse involved ?
• Was secrecy involved ?
• How developmentally appropriate are the
• sexual acts ?
• Sgroi
  (1988)

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Places to Go, Things to See

• Visit www.tomrawlings.com
• This presentation and paper online
• www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org
• LOTS of good information on juvenile justice.
• www.ncjfcj.org
• The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court
  Judges