CrimProf Blog

'The Disconnect Between the Streets and the Business Suites'

(Baltimore, MD) Juvenile offenders brought from Baltimore detention centers, along with Baltimore PD representatives, school officials, social workers, and leaders from grass-roots organizations, participated in a panel discussion regarding street crime. The five teens, recognizing the mistakes they had made, talked about their intentions to stay on the right path in spite of the violence in their neighborhoods. "But asked whether they felt safe in their neighborhoods, their answers showed just how tenuous staying on the right path can be.
'For me, safe or not safe, it doesn't matter because things can go bad in a second,' said one of the teens, who added that he once made $850 a week on the streets slinging drugs. 'But if I've got [a gun], I'm the man and you can't say nothing to me. If I don't have a [gun], I'll walk around with a knife.' At one point, the panel moderator asked the teens whether any of their family or friends had been killed. 'This year?' one asked...

The teens who spoke to the crowd talked about the lure of the streets and how important the money they earned through criminal activity was to their families. They said they didn't want to become involved in violence, but some said factors in their neighborhoods and the need to be respected were difficult to overcome.
Full story from baltimoresun.com... [Michele Berry]

Study: Houston leads in homicides by black youths

As violent crime nationally slows in growth or declines, the United States is facing a dramatic — but hardly noticed — increase in murders by and of young African-American men, a Northeastern University study released today reports.

Between 2002 and 2007, the number of black male juveniles murdered nationally increased by 31 percent and the number of black perpetrators by 43 percent. The increases were even greater, the report said, when guns were used as weapons.

Focusing on the period between 2000-01 and 2006-07, the study found Houston at the top of a list of 28 U.S. cities, with a 139 percent increase in the number of young African-Americans suspected in killings.

In 2006-07, 129 young black men were murdered in the city, up from 42 in 2000-01.

Those increases came as homicides by and of young white men slowed or declined. In Houston, the number of white offenders dropped by 10 percent. Nationally, FBI statistics showed murder decreased 1.3 percent in 2007 from the previous year.

"I don't want to suggest that this is an epidemic, a crisis situation," said study co-author James Fox, professor of criminal justice and law, policy and society at the university in Boston. "But it's absolutely a growing concern, not a one-year blip."

Fox and his associate, criminologist Marc Swatt, argued in the report that the increases occurred as the federal government cut support for community policing and intervention programs put in place to combat a rise in gang violence in the 1990s.

Though current violence falls short of levels in the '90s, the report's authors called for renewal of government support for intervention. "Let this small upturn serve as a thunderous wake-up call that crime prevention needs to be a priority again," they wrote.

"Kids can't wait, and crime doesn't wait," Fox said. "There is a significant need here — a large group of kids with inadequate, inferior education and a ready access to guns. A teenager with a gun in his hand is a dangerous individual."

Houston community activist Quanell X called the study a "blanket indictment of the city and government officials in the city and a greater indictment of ministers and political leaders of the African-American community."

He called for a citywide black leadership summit to find ways to end the violence.

"Until African-American leaders, both spiritual and political, male and female, can get into that room and check their egos at the door and say, 'To hell with party politics,' and walk out of that room with a plan all of us can have a part in," the killings will continue, he said.

Shape Community Center's Deloyd Parker questioned the way the study was conducted. "When they say 'offender,' does that mean someone who's charged with a crime or been convicted?" he said. "Sometimes even being convicted doesn't mean you're actually guilty." [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Study: Houston leads in homicides by black youths"

Youth Development Center's closing marks change in juvenile justice approach

The shuttering of the county-run Youth Development Center in Hudson ends an era for a place that has served troubled youths for more than 100 years.

But it also marks a fundamental change in how the county's juvenile justice system will deal with kids who need a time-out from the community.

Previously, those youths - mostly probation violators who had committed crimes like burglary or domestic violence - were sent for months to the 453-acre campus in Summit County.

The change of scenery got some kids away from the city and bad neighborhood influences. But, in the end, they would return home. And that transition, studies showed, did not always go smoothly.

Under a new plan hammered out by county and Juvenile Court officials, juveniles convicted of lower-level offenses can be screened - much like foster children are - and sent to private agencies in Cuyahoga County for up to 90 days of treatment.

Some will be in secure facilities, others in less-restrictive settings.

The county has agreed to spend about $5 million a year on treating 300 juveniles in this way.

The court also has promised to go after available federal money to pay for some of the placements. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Youth Development Center's closing marks change in juvenile justice approach"

Adult Crimes, Young Offenders: 'Where Do We Draw the Line?

Victoria Price was startled from sleep by an intruder who tried to rape her. Chandler Goule was followed, forced to the concrete at gunpoint and robbed. Matthew Caspari was chased down an alley at knifepoint as his wife screamed in horror.

The three victims told their stories yesterday during a public hearing about D.C. Council legislation that would allow judges to send certain cases back to juvenile court and to end the pretrial placement of youths charged as adults at the D.C. jail. Youth advocates long have maintained that the jail is unfit for juveniles.

But prosecutors and crime victims such as Price, 80, questioned whether city leaders were focused too much on the needs of alleged criminals. D.C. police recently reported that robberies by youths are on the rise. Last Friday, three teenagers -- 13, 14 and 15 -- were charged as juveniles with murder in the beating of a 56-year-old man who was attacked Oct. 6 as he walked home from a grocery store in Southwest Washington.

"I have lived here since 1973 with no iron bars on my window. Now I'm afraid in my own house," said Price, 80, of the crime two years ago at her home in Southwest Washington. "I'm not comfortable in my own neighborhood. Where do we draw the line with these young people?" [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Adult Crimes, Young Offenders: 'Where Do We Draw the Line?"

Attacks by Teen Groups Rising in D.C. and Nation

D.C. police say they are seeing a growing number of teenagers and young adults traveling in groups to assault and rob unsuspecting citizens, a trend that mirrors crimes in cities across the country.

In an eight-hour period last week, five people were attacked by juveniles in separate incidents, including an armed carjacking, in the Southwest waterfront neighborhood. And in the past month, there have been between seven and 11 "pack robberies" in or near Adams Morgan in Northwest Washington, Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said.

Similar attacks have occurred in the Brookland area of Northeast and Chinatown. Police said the crimes are not necessarily related but are part of an increase that has led to heightened enforcement.

"They're looking for someone who has a cellphone or someone using an iPod. Or they're just looking for some fast cash or a credit card," Lanier said Friday at a news conference in Adams Morgan, where she announced that there will be more patrols there. "You'll have a lone person walking, and there are five young males or more, and it's ridiculous. There's no need to beat people in those circumstances, but that's what they do. Just senseless."

The attacks in Southwest unfolded between 5 p.m. Monday and 1 a.m. Tuesday. The trouble began when five teenagers on bicycles attacked a man from behind, pushed him to the ground, hit him in the face and stomach, and fled. Police said they think that the attackers were between 16 and 18 years old. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Attacks by Teen Groups Rising in D.C. and Nation"

Minneapolis' 'blueprint' to attack youth violence is a success

When a politician hails an initiative as a "blueprint" for change, it often fails to deliver any substantial results. This doesn't appear to be the case with Minneapolis' blueprint to prevent youth violence, which started in January.

Gathering outside the city's new juvenile supervision center Friday, Mayor R.T. Rybak and a dozen community leaders presented a progress report on the comprehensive plan. Some of the successes they discussed were simpler to achieve, such as recruiting 25 city employees to serve as mentors for area youth, or expanding summer hours and programming at parks where crime is a problem.

But then there were the 1,074 home visits by nurses to help pregnant teens and young parents remain in school or Shiloh Baptist Church on the city's north side seeking to engage every family in a 40-block radius in two targeted neighborhoods.

Juvenile crime statistics show the plan is working. Two years ago, people 10 to 24 years old were responsible for nearly half the violent crime in Minneapolis. This year, it's decreased to 25 percent. But the nine youth murdered in 2008 is one more than the previous year.

The city's strategy to attack juvenile crime as a public health issue is getting national attention. The U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities will incorporate the plan into its national crime agendas.

"I have never seen so many groups come together for one purpose," said Kelvin Quarles, general manager of community radio station KMOJ. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Minneapolis' 'blueprint' to attack youth violence is a success"

Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence Among Teens

The death of a 16 year-old girl, shot and killed by her

17 year-old boyfriend in Oakland, California, epitomizes

the potential of interpersonal violence to escalate to a

tragic extreme (Contra Costa Times, 2008). Exposure to

interpersonal violence often begins in early adolescence

and continues into adulthood (CDC, 2006). In the US

alone, approximately 1 in 3 adolescent girls (estimates up

to 35%) is a victim of interpersonal violence (Bonomi

& Kelleher, 2007; CDC 2006 & 2007; Marcus, 2005).

This Focus attempts to bring to light various aspects of

a little-studied issue of critical importance, especially to

youth.

Interpersonal violence is physical, emotional, or verbal

abuse by one partner towards another in a dating relationship.

It is referred to by a variety of names—relationship

violence, date

fi

ghting, and intimate partner

violence—terms used interchangeably in this report.

This de

fi

nition also includes any abusive behavior aimed

at controlling or hurting a dating partner and thus

includes threats and acts of intimidation (WomensLaw.

org, 2007; CDC, 2007). The physical aspect of interpersonal

violence—intentional hitting, slapping, or physically

hurting by a boyfriend or girlfriend—is referred to

as physical dating violence (PDV) and is emphasized in

the following report. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence Among Teens"

N.Y. Law Treats Child Prostitutes as Crime Victims not Offenders

Ending years of debate and delay, Gov. David A. Paterson on Friday signed into law a bill shielding sexually exploited girls and boys from being charged with prostitution.

The law, known as the Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act, will divert children under the age of 18 who have been arrested for prostitution into counseling and treatment programs, provided they agree to aid in the prosecution of their pimps.

It has been the subject of intense debate in the State Legislature and beyond, and was opposed by some law enforcement officials and by the Bloomberg administration, which argued that the bill would make it harder to crack down on prostitution.

But the bill’s backers said it was wrong to treat under-age prostitutes — many forced into the sex trade and kept there with physical threats and abuse — as criminals rather than victims.

“For too long, these young people have been sexually exploited by pimps and predators, and then exploited again by state law, which treated them as criminals instead of victims,” said Assemblyman William Scarborough, a Queens Democrat who sponsored the bill.

The legislation passed the Democrat-controlled Assembly several times in recent years but died in the Republican-controlled State Senate, most recently because of disagreement over language addressing whether judges would have any discretion over diverting criminal charges.

But supporters agreed to add provisions this year that allow charges to be reinstated if the arrested child refuses counseling or declines to cooperate with court mandates, like testifying against sex traffickers. The new law will also prevent anyone who has already been through the program from avoiding prosecution for later prostitution offenses.

Read full article here. [Brooks Holland]

Public defender wants alternatives to juvenile detention

Nashville's new public defender says she is most proud of two things: the good work her office does in representing the city's poor and being the city's first woman to hold the office.

Dawn Deaner, a 12-year veteran of the office, was appointed by Metro Council Tuesday night to lead the office until 2010. She'll be completing the term of Ross Alderman, who was killed last month in a motorcycle accident.

I can't say enough about how proud I am to be a part of this office," Deaner said. "And how lucky Nashville is to have had the great public defenders we have had."

Deaner sat down with The Tennessean last week and talked about her respect for the history of the public defender's office and her vision for the future.

Ross Alderman was well respected in your office and in the community. Tell me about some of the qualities he possessed that you admired in him.

He cared deeply about our clients. He was doing this job because he cared, and saw humanity in each client we dealt with. Whether they were a homeless person charged with panhandling, or somebody who had committed a very serious offense, he saw their humanity. I think that's one of the most admirable qualities about him. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Public defender wants alternatives to juvenile detention"

At Sentencing, Youth Bares Soul, and Judge Bares His Pain

How much misery was appropriate to inflict on a promising 19-year-old, who himself had inflicted misery on society by dealing drugs, the judge asked himself out loud.

“It’s almost an impossible calculus,” said Justice Farber, who sits in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

The young man, Yiskar Caceres, had been arrested four times in roughly 15 months for selling or possessing cocaine, and Justice Farber already had given him an opportunity to wipe his slate clean before his most recent arrest, in April.

Now, Justice Farber said, he had no choice but to sentence Mr. Caceres to state prison. But even in doing so, the judge showed some compassion: he gave Mr. Caceres four and a half years in prison, half the maximum sentence that prosecutors had sought. Because Mr. Caceres has already served 11 months and will be eligible for a drug-treatment program, he could be out in as little as two years.

“I have not given up hope in you,” Justice Farber said, adding that he hoped Mr. Caceres would see how drugs had destroyed some of the inmates’ lives, “see the connection between what you do and what they become.” [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "At Sentencing, Youth Bares Soul, and Judge Bares His Pain"

After fatal call, judge should resign

She should call a news conference before the week is out, apologize for the pivotal role she played in a killing last week and tender her letter to the administrative judge of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.

Her apology should acknowledge that she was uniquely positioned to save the life of a 17-year-old Cleveland boy, who was shot five times Friday evening. She should acknowledge that instead, she gambled with the public's safety by releasing an increasingly dangerous teen hours before he killed.

Floyd should acknowledge that for inexcusable reasons, she rolled the dice on a violent juvenile, who had been aggressively working his way up to murder. She should acknowledge that she was the last person who could have prevented Demel Holiday's life from ending the way it did.

If Floyd truly cares about this community -- if she has any honor -- she will take ownership of a senseless death and demonstrate leadership by removing herself from the bench.

That would be a public service.

Most judges are not prescient. They're not expected to be. Like newspaper columnists and chimney sweeps, they are prone to missteps. They come equipped with no supernatural powers.

But judges are called judges for good reason. They are expected to listen intently, deliberate intensely and adjudicate wisely.

Floyd fails miserably on all counts. She's an inartful listener, which renders her ineffective and dangerous.

Furthermore, at some point she decided that her poor listening skills were virtues and that her own counsel superseded that of those positioned to help her.

That is the airtight case against her. That is why she should go.

Before releasing the 17-year-old delinquent charged with killing Holiday, a juvenile probation officer pleaded with Floyd to lock the boy up. She described the 17-year-old as a physical threat to the community. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "After fatal call, judge should resign"

Juvenile program 'a place of last resort,' not rehabilitation

Hennepin County is spending too much on residential treatment programs for juvenile offenders and could save money and get better results by leaving more young offenders with their families and placing them in daytime rehabilitation programs.

That's the finding of a study group made up of judges and corrections officials who recommend overhauling programs at the Hennepin County Home School.

Programs cost too much, last too long and do not address family issues once young people are released, the group said in a report to the Hennepin County Board.

"The home school has become ... a place of last resort for juveniles we don't know what to do with," Tom Merkel, county director of community corrections and rehabilitation, told the County Board this week.

Merkel said the study group "seriously considered" closing the home school, but decided it was ideal for new, shorter residence programs and day treatment for juvenile offenders.

County commissioners, whose concerns over the county home school spurred the study, expressed frustration at lack of progress on reshaping the school and reining in costs. For too long Hennepin has rested on its reputation as an innovator, some commissioners said. The report indicates counties such as Dakota, Ramsey and Washington have more effective programs for juvenile offenders. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Juvenile program 'a place of last resort,' not rehabilitation"

Panel reviews law for teen criminals

At a time when two studies question the validity of a state law that placed all 17-year-old criminal offenders in adult court, a committee of state legislators and other stakeholders has begun reviewing whether the law should be changed.

The Wisconsin Legislative Council’s Special Committee on High-Risk Juvenile Offenders, headed by Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) and vice chairman Rep. Rich Zipperer (R-City of Pewaukee), is studying what the best practices would be for decreasing recidivism among juvenile offenders, including a review of current law.

Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel, who is a committee member, said everything is on the table for discussion, including changing the law for 17-year-olds who commit minor offenses and an automatic waiver into adult court for any juvenile who commits a felony offense.

“We are looking at our juvenile justice system and assessing whether it’s useful,” Schimel said.

Two recent studies have called the state’s 1995 decision to send all 17-year-olds through adult court a failed experiment that only increases the likelihood the teens will commit more crimes. Results of a study by the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families are consistent with a report issued this month by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Schimel was a prosecutor in juvenile court when the law changed and admitted he has reservations about sending all 17-year-olds through adult court. Convicted teens were not changing their behavior if just a fine was issued, and yet there are some teens younger than 17 who are in juvenile detention for serious offenses such as armed robbery. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Panel reviews law for teen criminals"

Authorities seek programs for youths to reduce violence

At 14, Javier Quiroz was starting to take pride in his appearance. He liked to wear nice clothes, and his hair was rarely out of place. He played soccer and swam with friends, and he worked part time at a cousin's restaurant. He lived with his family in a City Heights apartment complex his mother manages.

Javier was a block from the apartment, at a friend's house, the last time his mother spoke to him. It was about midnight when she called and told him to come home.

“I'm coming back,” he said. “Don't worry.”

Javier never made it home.

Police said he was one of 28 people killed in gang-related homicides last year in San Diego, an increase of 56 percent from 2006. This year, there were 11 gang-related homicides through yesterday, compared with 17 over the same period last year, a 35 percent decrease.

Extra personnel for the gang unit this year has helped, police said.

Some parents want to see even more officers along with more programs for children in southern and southeastern San Diego – communities dotted with more sidewalk vigils than playgrounds. The memorials honor homicide victims, but they also remind residents that they live, work and play among gang members. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Authorities seek programs for youths to reduce violence"

Juvenile Transfers A Deterrent?

Beginning in the 1980s, many States passed legal reforms designed to get tough on juvenile crime. One important reform was the revision of transfer (also called waiver or certification) laws (Griffin, 2003) to expand the types of offenses and offenders eligible for transfer from the juvenile court for trial and sentencing in the adult criminal court These reforms lowered the minimum age for transfer, increased the number of transfer-eligible offenses, or expanded prosecutorial discretion and reduced judicial discretion in transfer decisionmaking (Fagan and Zimring, 2000; Redding, 2003, 2005). In 1979, for example, 14 States had automatic transfer statutes requiring that certain juvenile offenders be tried as adults; by 1995, 21 States had such laws, and by 2003, 31 States (Steiner and Hemmens, 2003)

In addition, the age at which juvenile court jurisdiction ends was lowered to 15 or 16 years in 13 States (see Snyder and Sickmund, 2006), although very recently, some States have reduced the scope of transfer laws (Bishop, 2004), and one State has raised the age at which juvenile court jurisdiction ends from 16 to 18. In the wake of these legislative changes, the number of youth convicted of felonies in criminal courts and incarcerated in adult correctional facilities has increased (Redding, 2003), reaching a peak in the mid-1990s and then declining somewhat (Snyder and Sickmund, 2006) due, in part, to the decrease in juvenile crime. An estimated 4,100 youth were committed to State adult prisons in 1999, representing 1 percent of new prison commitments (Snyder and Sickmund, 2006). Sixty-one percent of these youth were incarcerated for person offenses, 23 percent for property offenses, 9 percent for drug offenses, and 5 percent for public order offenses (e.g., weapons possession) (Snyder and Sickmund, 2006). Transferred juveniles, particularly those convicted of violent offenses, typically receive longer sentences than those sentenced in the juvenile court for similar crimes (Bishop, 2000; Kupchik, Fagan, and Liberman, 2003; Myers, 2005; Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, 1996). But, they may be released on bail for a considerable period of time while they await trial in the criminal court (Myers, 2005), and many youth incarcerated in adult facilities serve no longer than the maximum time they would have served in a juvenile facility (Bishop, 2000; Fritsch, Caeti, and Hemmens, 1996; Myers, 2001). [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/220595.pdf

S.F. fund aids teen felons who are illegals

As San Francisco's juvenile justice system shielded young illegal immigrant felons from possible deportation, Mayor Gavin Newsom's office gave grants totaling more than $650,000 to nonprofit agencies to provide the underage offenders with free services - everything from immigration attorneys to housing assistance to "arts and cultural affirmation activities," city records show.

Newsom has said the city began its policy of not referring young immigrant offenders to federal authorities for deportation under previous mayors, and that he reversed the practice after he became aware of it this year. However, in 2006, the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice - a community outreach arm of Newsom's office - created a grant program specifically designed to assist, rather than deport, "undocumented, unaccompanied and monolingual" immigrants who were in the custody of the city's Juvenile Probation Department or on juvenile probation, according to city documents.

The city provided $467,000 to three nonprofit agencies under the grant program from mid-2006 and mid-2008, records show, and another $200,000 was approved for two of the agencies for this budget year.

Newsom's office created the program, in part, to deal with an influx of Central American youths being housed on drug charges at San Francisco's juvenile hall, according to those familiar with the grant. Crowding at juvenile hall had led to protests among youth advocate groups.

"A key goal of this project is to assist these individuals to successfully navigate the juvenile justice system and achieve stability within the community setting," according to a 2006 invitation issued by Newsom's office for agencies to bid for grant money.

The grant language said the youths "require extensive support" to overcome "multiple complex barriers" in the justice system.

Money for the effort came from the pot of discretionary funding that the mayor's office receives each year as part of the city budget.

'Proud tradition'

The goal of the grant program, according to the request for bids, was to further the city's "proud tradition as a haven for immigrants."

In addition to immigration attorneys, Newsom's office envisioned the program helping young felons obtain housing, food, clothing, educational and vocational training, English-language instruction, medical care and mental health assessments.

The program would also provide "spiritual, cultural enrichment and recreation activities."

Joseph Russoniello, the U.S. attorney for the northern district of California and a critic of San Francisco's past policy of not turning over undocumented juvenile immigrant felons for deportation, said the mayor's office was funding programs that might be violating federal law.

"What it means to me," he said, "is they took the concept of sanctuary, and they applied it in a way that it is as close to harboring as I've ever seen."

Federal law bars people from knowingly harboring undocumented immigrants. Russoniello said the city grant program relied on young immigrant offenders staying in the juvenile justice system, away from federal authorities who might want to deport them. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "S.F. fund aids teen felons who are illegals"

"Project Zero" Overhauled NYC Teen Offender Rehab

Dr. Clarice Bailey was sent to New York City by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government to find out what it’s like inside the city’s program for juvenile justice reform. The Institute had its eye on the Department of Probation initiative called “Project Zero,” which seeks alternative kinds of rehabilitation to locking up young offenders in juvenile jail. Bailey spoke with probation officers, staff at the family courts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and counselors who work one-on-one with families in the system. Then she met the youths.

She recalled what the kids said about the adult staffers assigned to help them: “They’re like family. I’m close to them. They helped me when I got kicked out of my grandma’s house. They made sure I was all right.”

Bailey, who has a doctorate in public administration and policy and has worked closely with youth involved in criminal activity and the justice system, came away impressed. Last month, the Ash Institute announced Project Zero had been selected from a pool of about 1,000 applicants as a finalist for the Annie E. Casey Innovations Award in Children and Family System Reform.

Hope – and statistics

Probation Commissioner Martin Horn started the program in 2003, with “zero” standing for the goal of sending no kids to juvenile correctional facilities outside the city. Instead, they would return home to live with their families, attend school as usual, and participate in intensive therapy sessions aimed at helping them get on the right path from inside their own neighborhoods.

In the year before Project Zero began, 1,300 to 1,500 New York City youths were sent to juvenile facilities, according to Department of Probation (DOP) statistics. In 2004, the Department sent 1,257 juveniles to state correctional facilities, and by 2007, 795 juveniles were admitted. DOP data also show that from 2002 to 2007, the number of city youth incarcerated as a result of their Family Court judgment decreased by 27 percent. The DOP reports that this decline was caused by the Project Zero initiative.

“The administration of juvenile justice in our country is marked by an absence of coherent leadership and is essentially unmanaged. Project Zero represents our resolve to take advantage of that vacuum and change the paradigm in New York from the bottom up,” Horn told the award’s national selection committee at Harvard in June. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading ""Project Zero" Overhauled NYC Teen Offender Rehab"

Ariz. courts trying alternative juvenile justice

TUCSON - If you had visited the juvenile lockup in Pima County a decade ago - at the height of the adult-time-for-adult-crime campaign - you'd have seen young people sleeping in the cafeteria because of crowding.

If you'd visited five years ago, you'd have seen nearly 200 juveniles held each day.

If you visited a week ago, you would have counted 78.

There were almost 3,500 youths detained in Pima County in 2003, a number that plummeted to 2,583 last year and is still dropping.

In year four of a wide-scale transformation of Pima County's juvenile-justice system, troubled kids are being diverted into other alternatives.

"We're responding to national research which negates some commonly held beliefs that you can scare them straight," said presiding Juvenile Court Judge Patricia Escher. "More frequently, when you detain young people inappropriately, what you do is send them on a path of criminality."

Lower-risk youths might be influenced by higher-risk ones they meet in detention.

And then there's the power of the self-fulfilling prophecy, Escher said.

"If you have youths wondering, 'Am I a good person or a bad person?' and you put those young people in detention, you're confirming this is who they are and this is who we expect them to be," she said.

How states treat their kids, including those in the juvenile-justice system, got attention this month with the annual release of the Kids Count report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, a private charitable organization "dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States." [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Ariz. courts trying alternative juvenile justice"

Cops: Grand Theft Auto video game inspired crimes

Teenagers who police say went on a video-game-inspired late-night crime spree were arraigned Thursday after they mugged a man outside a New Hyde Park supermarket and menaced motorists in Garden City with a baseball bat, a crowbar and a broomstick, Nassau police said.

The teens told detectives they were imitating the "Grand Theft Auto" video-game series where characters steal cars, beat up other characters and commit crimes, authorities said.

Police have identified at least three victims: a man they said was severely beaten during a robbery; a would-be carjacking victim; and a driver whose van was smashed with a bat.

Nassau Det. Lt. Raymond Coté said there are likely more victims who were attacked.

At one point during the spree, the initial group of four encountered other youths.

"They realize they know them from school and they can't rob them," Coté said. "Two of them they enlist in this crime spree and now they're joining the pack. It's an angry mob of youths."

The six suspects were all charged as adults.

Arrested and charged with felony robbery were Dylan Laird, 17, of Southborough, Mass., and Stephen Attard, 18, Samuel Philip, 16, Brandon Cruz, 15, and Gurnoor Singh, 14, all of New Hyde Park. Police did not release photos of Cruz or Singh because of their age. Jaspreet Singh, 17, of New Hyde Park, was charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of stolen property and is jailed on $20,000 bond or $10,000 cash bail, a jail official said.

Laird, Attard and Philip were ordered held on $100,000 bond, or $50,000 bail. Cruz and Gurnoor Singh were ordered held on $150,000 bond, or $75,000 cash.

The teens committed the crimes Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, police said.

It began Tuesday when the group was hanging out at a park in New Hyde Park, Coté said.

"They decide that they're going to go do some street robberies, emulating the popular fictional character Niko Bellic," Coté said, referring to a star of "Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City."

The group attacked a man near a New Hyde Park supermarket who had just finished an evening shift and was waiting for a bus, Coté said.

"They approach him from behind, force him to the ground, start punching him, kicking him, knocking the teeth out of his head and take what he has on him," Coté said.

They stole a small amount of cash and a cell phone, he said. After fleeing, the suspects broke into sheds and storage units in a hunt for makeshift weapons including the bat, crowbar and broomstick, Coté said.

Near New Hyde Park Road and Stewart Avenue, they formed a human roadblock. A woman driving a 2008 BMW was forced to stop. Cops say the group wanted to carjack her.

"She was scared for her life," Coté said. They stole her cigarettes, and she sped off and called 911, he said.

The six suspects were arrested by Garden City police responding to a 911 call shortly after the group approached the third victim and hit his car with a bat. [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Cops: Grand Theft Auto video game inspired crimes"

Cops: Grand Theft Auto video game inspired crimes

Teenagers who police say went on a video-game-inspired late-night crime spree were arraigned Thursday after they mugged a man outside a New Hyde Park supermarket and menaced motorists in Garden City with a baseball bat, a crowbar and a broomstick, Nassau police said.

The teens told detectives they were imitating the "Grand Theft Auto" video-game series where characters steal cars, beat up other characters and commit crimes, authorities said.

Police have identified at least three victims: a man they said was severely beaten during a robbery; a would-be carjacking victim; and a driver whose van was smashed with a bat.

Nassau Det. Lt. Raymond Coté said there are likely more victims who were attacked.

At one point during the spree, the initial group of four encountered other youths.

"They realize they know them from school and they can't rob them," Coté said. "Two of them they enlist in this crime spree and now they're joining the pack. It's an angry mob of youths."

The six suspects were all charged as adults.

Arrested and charged with felony robbery were Dylan Laird, 17, of Southborough, Mass., and Stephen Attard, 18, Samuel Philip, 16, Brandon Cruz, 15, and Gurnoor Singh, 14, all of New Hyde Park. Police did not release photos of Cruz or Singh because of their age. Jaspreet Singh, 17, of New Hyde Park, was charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of stolen property and is jailed on $20,000 bond or $10,000 cash bail, a jail official said.

Laird, Attard and Philip were ordered held on $100,000 bond, or $50,000 bail. Cruz and Gurnoor Singh were ordered held on $150,000 bond, or $75,000 cash.

The teens committed the crimes Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, police said.

It began Tuesday when the group was hanging out at a park in New Hyde Park, Coté said.

"They decide that they're going to go do some street robberies, emulating the popular fictional character Niko Bellic," Coté said, referring to a star of "Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City." [Mark Godsey]

Continue Reading "Cops: Grand Theft Auto video game inspired crimes"