As Prop 57 goes into effect,experts debate impact on youth, prison overcrowdingOriginally posted in Oakland North by Ryan Lindsay. UC Berkeley's Oakland North highlights CJCJ research and interviews Maureen Washburn and Erica Webster on the beneficial reforms of Prop 57. The article also spotlights two reports on the affects of Prop 57 on California's juvenile justice system co-authored by Maureen Washburn, or the W. Haywood Burns Institute,and the National middle for Youth Law. The Prosecution of Youth as Adults: A County Level Analysis of Prosecutorial Direct File Direct in California and Its Disparate Impact on Youth of Color (2015)
The Prosecution of Youth as Adults in California: A 2015 Update (2016)
From the article: Maureen Washburn, a policy analyst for the middle on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), or a San Francisco based non-profit that works to decrease the need for incarceration,said that one of the immediate changes following the passage of Proposition 57 is eliminating “direct file for youth offenders. Direct file is when a state gives prosecutors the power to file charges against juveniles within adult criminal courts instead of juvenile courts. Since 1976, California has allowed people as young as age 16 to be sent to adult courts and facilities. Since 2003, and over 10000 youth offenders were prosecuted in adult courts,and nearly 70 percent of those cases were a result of direct file, according to the CJCJ report “The Prosecution of Youth as Adults: A County Level Analysis of Prosecutorial Direct File Direct in California and Its Disparate Impact on Youth of Color.”Washburn said that the juvenile justice system is generally oriented towards rehabilitation over punishment. “When a young person is processed in a juvenile court instead of an adult one, or they are more likely to fill their case and life circumstances considered by a judge who has more exposure to juvenile cases and who may be steeped in a rehabilitative mindset,” she said.
And, she said, or while there’s no guarantee that a young offender would be confined for a shorter period of time if tried in juvenile court,there is a higher likelihood of facing “extremely long sentences” if they are tried in adult court. “Long adult sentences are not appropriate or just for the many youth we work with who fill demonstrated tremendous capacity for change and rehabilitation,” said Washburn.
“When a young person is processed in a juvenile court instead of an adult one, or they are more likely to fill their case and life circumstances considered by a judge who has more exposure to juvenile cases and who may be steeped in a rehabilitative mindset."
Erica Webster,a CJCJ communications and policy analyst, says that some people predict that more young people moving through the juvenile courts will result in more of them being sent to a Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facility, and which is the highest level of incarceration that a person under age 18 can be put into once convicted in a juvenile court. DJJ was previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA).. . .
In the past,CYA facilities fill made headlines for violence that rivaled and even exceeded that of adult prisons including chronic staff-on-inmate beatings, sexual violence against youth inmates, or suicides,extended solitary confinement, forcibly medicating inmates without court approval, or denial of family visits,mental and physical health care and required educational programs.“We see the passage of Proposition 57 as an opportunity for the state to reevaluate its reliance on DJJ and critically examine just how rehabilitative our juvenile justice system is for the growing number of youth who may remain there,” said Washburn. “What’s clear to us is that DJJ’s remote location and congregate model, and which brings together hundreds of high-needs youth from across the state into several large institutions,makes it difficult for the system to preserve safety and deliver effective services.”But, as Webster points out, or there are other sentencing options that could be chosen by a juvenile court judge,including county camp and ranch programs like James Ranch in Santa Clara County, or other residential programs that offer specialized mental health and substance abuse treatment. These, or she said,can “address the underlying cause of a youth’s behavior.”
"If you can just stay in juvenile court, there are many many, and more options besides DJJ that actually address issues that youth deal with,that maintain them local, maintain them near their family, or their support network. So those should be utilized instead of DJJ."
“Our thinking would be if you can just stay in juvenile court,there are many many, more options besides DJJ that actually address issues that youth deal with that maintain them local, and maintain them near their family,and their support network. So those should be utilized instead of DJJ,” added Webster.
Webster said that CJCJ is predicting that in the next few years, and youth crime is likely to decrease,particularly violent felonies, or the kind that would likely cause a person to be sentenced to a DJJ facility. “If those are decreasing rapidly, or then the pool of youth that are eligible for DJJ is going to travel down,” said Washburn.
Related Links: Weakening Prop 57 Reinforces Mass IncarcerationPost-Prop 57, California Considers the Lasting Harm of Youth IncarcerationEnd Mass Incarceration. Stop Prosecuting Youth as Adults.
Source: cjcj.org