| mySPIN |
 Juvenile Injustice
by Tom Campbell
March 29, 2007
Our state’s record on juvenile detention and rehabilitation is disgraceful. Facilities are inadequate, adults and offenders report they do not feel safe, and the lack of staff is critical.
This is not a sudden development. We have faced these very serious problems for many years. Former Governor Jim Hunt recommended a new, cabinet level department to elevate the status of the handling of youthful offenders. Four years ago the State Auditor reported that the problems had grown even worse since the new department was created. Evidence suggests little has changed since that report to improve the tragic conditions.
North Carolina’s juvenile justice system is in crisis. First and foremost, there is no reason why anyone should feel unsafe and why assaults on staff or offenders should be tolerated. The growth of gangs in our facilities evidences control problems. If we are unable to ensure safety we fail the first test of justice.
Young people who follow the wrong track are sent to these facilities for punishment, but also for rehabilitation. At their young age there is hope that past bad decisions will not become a life pattern. One way or another they are part of our state’s future story. If juvenile justice programs are successful in helping them make better decisions and get on a better course, their story and the state’s future is promising. If we (and they) fail this test the future is almost certain to contain more crime and violence.
Juvenile justice is more than just detention. We should have a genuine hope and chance for correction and lives that will be changed. Chronic staff shortages such as now exist are inexcusable. One facility in Asheville reportedly had to cancel classes for offenders because of lack of staff. These facilities need more and more specialized staff than our adult correctional facilities. If inadequate budgets are the problem, those within the system must raise the consciousness level to a sufficient point where funding is made available.
Lawmakers are now considering legislation that would allow more16 and 17 year-olds to be tried as juveniles instead of as adults. If passed, this legislation will have the obvious effect of putting even more young people into a juvenile justice system that is obviously not working well.
Continued failures in juvenile justice sends a strong message that our state does not care about these young people or their futures. It is past time to see effective leadership emerge; those currently charged with leading and administering the system are failing it. If they do not have solutions or are incapable of implementing them, they need to be replaced. It is past time to see dramatic improvement in what, by most accounts, is juvenile injustice. |
|
