by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Many people believe that today’s juvenile courts are trafficking record high numbers of hardened and violent children who are repeat offenders.
That’s a popular misconception, both prosecutors and defense attorneys say. The numbers are stabilizing and children today aren’t much worse than they were 10 years ago. Sure, there are fights and petty thefts, but are there really that many?
“It’s been highly sensationalized in the media,” said Lisa Steely, the coordinator of the juvenile division of the Public Defender’s Office. “Trends are being distorted. National statistics have gone down and Jacksonville certainly reflects that.”
Steely, who has worked in the Public Defender’s Office since 1983, said many juveniles who are being arrested today maybe shouldn’t have been. Rather, many of the cases coming across her desk could have been dealt with at much earlier stages.
“It’s not that the number of crimes are going up,” said Shirley Durham, an assistant state attorney for eight years. “The amount of reports are.”
“What has happened,” said Steely, “is that society is forgetting how to use its conflict resolution skills. Parents aren’t parenting and that is essential to the family dynamic. You need to get a license to drive, but anyone can have kids.”
Steely stressed that capable and educated parents are critical to child development. “Most parents aren’t doing their job from conception on,” she said, adding that single-parent children may be at a higher risk of delinquency because of a reduced level of supervision.
Durham agreed that many of the parents of delinquent children may not be addressing problems at home before they get out of control.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Durham, “but it is also something that is becoming harder to do. People have to work, leaving their kids without supervision.”
Durham noted that a natural conflict exists between providing tangible needs for children, while also putting in the face time that many suggest will keep them out of trouble.
“A parent has to be able to provide a roof and put food on the table,” she said. “It’s hard because necessary things like working can have negative effects. A child who shoplifts, for example, thinks they can get away with it like they might get away with things at home. They don’t know about the security measures of a store and they will get caught.”
Agreeing with Steely, Durham said that a lot of the 7,133 cases that she saw last year could have been addressed elsewhere and, perhaps, prevented earlier.
“A lot of time, schools aren’t handling problems on the administrative level anymore,” said Steely. “The police are overused because it’s easier to call them. We’re being overly cautious in some cases.”
She added, however, that there are some principals who do address conflicts and resolve them at school.
“It’s true,” said Durham. “Many schools are calling the police when kids get out of control, but I am not blaming them.”
Durham recognizes that the goal of any school can easily be defined.
“The kids are there to learn. Many times there are kids who can repeatedly interrupt a teacher from doing their job while also distracting the other children,” she said.
When delinquent children are arrested, both attorneys stressed that it is not the goal of the juvenile court system to prosecute them every time. Obviously, it depends on the nature of the case and the record of the child but diverting and, subsequently, rehabilitating them is what they want to accomplish. Typically, first time offenders with offenses ranging from petty theft to first degree felonies are diverted.
“We don’t want to criminalize children who don’t need to be,” said Steely. “They would wind up being worse off if the problem is not appropriately addressed. I love making a difference in a child’s life. That’s why I got involved in the juvenile courts in the first place.”
Steely said diversionary programs, including parent and/or child counseling, have been scientifically proven to make an overall, positive impact in both the long and short terms.
“We know they’re working,” she said, “because we’re only seeing most children once. It’s never too early to try to catch a problem before it has gotten out of control. A dollar spent on a five-year-old is $25 on a 15-year old.”
Recently, Gov. Jeb Bush’s proposed budget for the Department of Juvenile Justice calls for cuts totaling millions of dollars and both Steely and Durham have expressed concern over the future of many initiatives and day treatment programs.
“If programs were to be cut,” Durham said, “that would be detrimental to our current policy of rehabilitating children.”