Council Members Approve New Resolution In Push For Juvenile Justice System Reform
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
In a largely symbolic effort, the City Council approved a resolution Tuesday that would prevent individuals who are under 18 years old from appearing in criminal court over minor offenses. NY1’s Dean Meminger filed the following report.Sixteen and 17-year-olds are sent to criminal court for minor crimes every day. On Tuesday, the City Council said that's unacceptable.
"Our young people get caught up in a juvenile justice system that treats them as adults and they get lost. They come out worse off than when they went in," said City Council Member Daniel Dromm.
New York and North Carolina are the only states that send 16 and 17-year-olds to adult court for minor offenses.
In a symbolic move, the council approved a resolution that would require anyone under 18 accused of a non-violent misdemeanor to appear in family court.
"You want to make sure that if they do make a mistake, they have the chance to correct it, and that is what will happen in family court. Alternatives to incarceration," said City Council Member Sara Gonzalez.
City Council can't change this law: That's up to state legislators. However, the push to reform the juvenile justice system has a strong advocate in the state's top judge.
"45,000 to 50,000 kids, 16 and 17-year-olds who get into the adult criminal justice system that would not,” said Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York State Court of Appeals. “It is incredible, and we are taking these kids and mixing them with hardened criminals in adult prisons."
Judge Lippman said studies show that often turns teens into criminals. He said in family court, they have a better chance at changing their lives.
"In family court, you are charged with delinquency, not a crime, and that one word makes all the difference in the world. You don't have a record," said Judge Lippman.
Some who support the reform say the family court system has its own major problems and that it would be difficult to handle the thousands of new cases.
"If you put more cases in family court, you need to put additional resources in the system so that there are more judges, more attorneys, more support staff to process those cases expeditiously and fairly," said Robert Gangi of the Urban Justice Center.
Supporters of the reform hope to get the state to pass a new law next year.