Juvenile Justice Reform Strategies

Prepared by Kaye Kendrick Enterprises, LLC

• Purpose of Initiative
• Where are we now?
• What do we know?
• Best Practices
• Early vs. Late Intervention
• Strategy for Early Intervention
• Voices of Florida’s job

Long-term Effectiveness
Prevention &
Criminal
Early
Activity
Intervention

Awareness Juvenile
& Court &
Treatment Incarceration
Adult
Court &
Victims Incarceration


Getting Tough on Juvenile Crime
—An Approach with Costly Results
Getting Smart about
Juvenile Justice
– The Blueprint Commission

Justice by Gender, The Lack of Appropriate Prevention,
Diversion, and Treatment Alternatives for Girls in the
Juvenile Justice System
– American Bar Association/National Bar Association


Where are we now?
• More children in criminal (adult) court system than
any other state in the nation
• Florida almost half size of California
– transfers to adult criminal court 8x that of
California
• Youth crime dropped 57 percent between 1995 and
2010.

….all rates down in USA

The Challenge

According to FBI statistics

• Rate of violent youth crime in
Florida dropped 57 percent
between 1995 and 2010
• Juvenile arrests for murder fell 69
percent.

Why?....long-term effect?


State Comparison
• Florida’s transfer to Adult system
….approximately 165 transfers per
100,000 youth population
– nearly double that of its closest
competitors, Oregon and Arizona
....96 and 84 per 100,000, respectively
– Yet, both of those states beat Florida in
the crime drop.
• Ohio had lowest… 20 per 100,000
But, crime decline of 74 percent was the
steepest of all six states.

…In Comparison to Rest of World
• THE UNITED STATES IMPRISONS
MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER
NATION IN THE WORLD.
• While 123 nations allow the death
penalty, only the U.S. and Iran
currently sentence juvenile offenders to
death. Even nations such as China and
Pakistan, countries that previously
executed juveniles, have amended
their laws to exclude death as a
penalty for youth. In the U.S. since
1973, 226 juvenile offenders have been
sentenced to death, and 22 have been
executed.

Around the World (con’t)
• Many countries have “punitive” prevention programs that
try to suppress juvenile and youth offenses, as well as gang
recruitment, expansion and criminal behavior, by means of
surveillance (continuous police observation) and
prosecution.
• This type of approach generally precludes efforts to
promote proper behavior, focusing instead on preventing
unwanted behavior. However, aggression on the part of
authorities can in many cases contribute to the further
integration of youth into delinquent groups.


Alarming Statistics

• Black juveniles are held in residential custody
in the United States at twice the rate for
Hispanics and five times the rates for whites.
• Women/Girls being Incarcerated at increasing
rate.


Recent Studies
“…studies exist indicating getting
tough approach has little or no
effect on the rate of juvenile
crime.

Studies show that trying
juveniles in adult criminal court
may actually result in higher
rates of reoffending.”


Results of Studies

• Juveniles who receive harsher
penalties when tried as adults
are not "scared straight."

• In fact, after their release,
they tend to reoffend sooner
and more often than those
treated in the juvenile system.

Juvenile Court
“The original idea was, when a kid gets in trouble and
is brought into court, the judge sits down, is a friendly
mentor and has a talk. The family is involved and
things get better. But that's not the way the juvenile
court now operates. It's very big, it's very precise.
Crimes are charged: the kid didn't hit another kid, he
committed an assault or an assault with a deadly
weapon or a battery. All of a sudden, the minor's there
in court with an attorney telling him not to
acknowledge that he did a wrong, because
punishment's going to be terrible. And I'm not saying
the kid shouldn't have an attorney, but that's what
happens when we made this system like a mini-adult
system”
Judge Nance Hoffman ,Prepared by Kaye Kendrick Enterprises,Santa Clara
Retired, County of LLC

The juvenile system does work: a 1996
Florida study found that youth
transferred to adult prisons had
approximately a 30% higher recidivism
rate than youth who stayed in the
juvenile system
Source: Donna Bishop, et al, The Transfer of Juveniles to Criminal Court,
42 Crime and Delinquency 171 (1996)

Important to Know:
Juvenile Issues & Solutions vary
over time and communities!

What We Do Know….
Statistical data in many countries show that
delinquency is largely a group phenomenon;
between two-thirds and three-quarters of all
juvenile offenses are committed by members of
various groups.


What We Do Know….
Juvenile peer groups are noted for their high levels of
social cohesiveness, hierarchical organization, and a
certain code of behavior based on the rejection of
adult values and experience.

There is a level of
juvenile issues that are a
“normal” part of the
adolescent maturation
process

What We Do Know….
Juvenile crime, including
violent offenses, peaks at
around 3 p.m., generally right
after school lets out.

If you reach a kid early, chances
are they won't re-offend


What We Do Know….
A study carried out in prisons in the
United States reveals that families
involved in criminal activities tend to
push their younger members
towards violating the law. More
than two-thirds of those interviewed
had relatives who were
incarcerated; for 25 per cent it was a
father and for another 25 per cent a
brother or sister.


What We Do Know….
• The symbolic exclusion from society
of juveniles who have committed
even minor offences has important
implications for the development of
delinquent careers.
• Studies show that the act of labeling
may lead to the self-adoption of a
delinquent image, which later
results in delinquent activity.


What We Do Know….
• Lack or insufficiency of parental
supervision is one of the strongest
predictors of delinquency.


Best Practice….
• Can reduce juvenile delinquency by changing
an urban environment.
• A research study revealed most activities of
juvenile delinquent groups concentrated
around park.
• The layout of the park was redesigned to
create many more leisure and recreational
alternatives for juveniles and their parents.
• Number of positive afternoon activities held in
schools and parks was increased.
…considerable reduction in juvenile
delinquency.

Best Practice….
• Supplying adolescents and young people with
increased economic opportunities,
professional training and education, new
workplaces and assistance in organizing
businesses reduces juvenile crime


Best Practice….
Build on strengths and interests of youth,
rather than focusing only on their
problems or deficits.

Citizens forged a partnership to combat
crime in 10 high-crime neighborhoods.
They established new athletic leagues for
young people and a youth forum for teens
to speak out on community problems

—led to a 29 per cent drop in crime in the
targeted neighborhoods and a citywide
reduction in violent crime. Kaye Kendrick Enterprises, LLC
Prepared by

Best Practice….
The idea that young people can
and should work in partnership
with adults to improve conditions
in their communities has gained
currency in the past decade. Young
people are being asked to sit on
boards, submit ideas and support
community efforts through
structured (sometimes required)
volunteering. Prepared by Kaye Kendrick Enterprises, LLC

Barrier….
• Low wages paid to social
service employees give them
little incentive to work with
adolescents.


“The Balance”

Incarceration
Community
Prevention by Intervention
Community Judicial
Awareness Proceedings
Early Detection
Law Enforcement
Root Cause Detection
Root Cause
Root Cause
$ $$
$$$

Requires Detection
& Addressing Root Cause

…..more time and energy
to figure out who they
are and why they're
there ….figure out what
their strengths are and
build upon those

Detection &
Intervention
How well are we listening?.......

“A lot of it had to do with feeling like nobody
else cared about them, or feeling disrespected
by everybody else unless they belonged to
something bigger than themselves, and the
only thing bigger than themselves that they
knew about was the gang.”


Three Areas of
Detection & Intervention
• At Individual Level

• At Community Level

• At Societal Level

Points of Detection - Individuals
• Hunger & Malnutrition
• Growth & Development
• School Readiness
• Reading Ability
• Drop in School
Attendance
• Drop in Grades
• Changes in Appearance
• Aggression or Withdrawal

Community Points of Detection
• Increase in Crime Rates
• Presence of Gang Activity
Graffiti & Fights
• Group Cultural Dynamics
• Unsupervised Children
• Health Trends
• Disease
• Prenatal Issues

Societal Points of Detection
• Socio-Economic Changes
• Immigration
• Urbanization
• Unemployment
• Parent Incarceration
• Organized Crime
• Sudden Affluence

Individual & Family Intervention
• Educational, Social & Psychological Support
(same culture, race helpful)
• Social Work & Life Coaching
• Group/Out-of-Home
camps, group homes, alternative
schools and shelters
• Health Care


Community Intervention
Public Awareness & Education
• Parenting
• Social Responsibility
• Specific Issues


Society Level Intervention
• Long-term Focus & Flexible Laws
• Available & Flexible Funding


Early Warning Signs of Conflict or War
• Sudden demographic changes and displacement
• Rising unemployment rates
• Economic shocks or financial crisis
• Destruction or desecration of religious sites
• Discrimination or legislation favoring on group over
another
• Government “clamp-downs”
• Destabilizing referenda or elections
• A rise in “societal” intolerance and prejudice
• An increase in numbers of demonstrations or rallies
• Foreign intervention

…only a little different for children!

The Florida Challenge
Child
Welfare
Systems

Health
Education
Systems
Communities Care
Systems

Law
Enforcement
Systems


Voices For Florida -
Help Foster Seamlessness and
Early Warning Systems for Children
• Tracking Outcome & Early
Warning Indicators At Societal
Level
• Helping Communities Develop
Their Own Indicators and Use
Proven Strategy to Address
Unique Needs in Their
Community

Juvenile Justice Reform Strategies

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