NEW YORK—A recent study in the Université de Montréal found that youths who are incarcerated are more likely to become adult offenders than those who get away with criminal behavior, because they influence each other when they are put together in jail.
Addressing this situation, as it is also observed in New York City, Manhattan District Attorney (DA) candidate Richard Aborn announced on Wednesday his proposed reforms to the juvenile justice system to reduce juvenile crime and better intervene with youths’ delinquent behaviors.
“We need a community-based effort to work with at-risk youths before they come into contact with the criminal justice system, and divert young offenders from committing further crimes. We need to offer struggling young people a chance—not just a cell,” said Aborn.
“We need to stop thinking that putting a young offender in jail is the surest way to deter and prevent crime. My experiences have shown the exact opposite. We need to move away from the retributive model of justice for the betterment of our community,” added Beth Hofmeister, vice president of the Association for Legal Aid Attorneys.
Currently, New York is one of the only two states in the U.S. where the justice system consider adolescents older than 15 year old to be adults, and Aborn proposes to follow most states’ steps of setting the age at 18. It has been found that recidivism is more likely to happen to youths tried as adults and imprisoned.
Almost half of youths who are sentenced to the city’s juvenile detention facilities are readmitted within a year of release, and youths detained in adult prisons are more prone to committing suicide than those who are kept in juvenile facilities. Moreover, New York City spends approximately $75,000 each year for every juvenile in a detention facility, while community-based systems, which are more effective, cost two times less, according to Senator Eric Adams.
Aborn also promotes family members’ input while conducting the sentence and treatment plan, and seeks to partner with schools to educate young people and provide after-school programs that serve as alternatives to crime-related activities. Aborn would also like to establish a pilot Youth Mental Health Clinic, where clinical therapists and case managers will respond to youths’ psychological needs and make sentencing recommendations.
In addition, Senator Bill Perkins mentioned that 95 percent of New York City’s incarcerated youths are African Americans and Latinos, while the population of these groups’ youths in the city is less than 67 percent.
In response to that, Aborn suggests the establishment of an “Effectiveness Czar,” who will evaluate the justice system’s performance and fairness by analyzing data in the justice system to determine if the prosecution of certain groups contains biases.
Addressing this situation, as it is also observed in New York City, Manhattan District Attorney (DA) candidate Richard Aborn announced on Wednesday his proposed reforms to the juvenile justice system to reduce juvenile crime and better intervene with youths’ delinquent behaviors.
“We need a community-based effort to work with at-risk youths before they come into contact with the criminal justice system, and divert young offenders from committing further crimes. We need to offer struggling young people a chance—not just a cell,” said Aborn.
“We need to stop thinking that putting a young offender in jail is the surest way to deter and prevent crime. My experiences have shown the exact opposite. We need to move away from the retributive model of justice for the betterment of our community,” added Beth Hofmeister, vice president of the Association for Legal Aid Attorneys.
Currently, New York is one of the only two states in the U.S. where the justice system consider adolescents older than 15 year old to be adults, and Aborn proposes to follow most states’ steps of setting the age at 18. It has been found that recidivism is more likely to happen to youths tried as adults and imprisoned.
Almost half of youths who are sentenced to the city’s juvenile detention facilities are readmitted within a year of release, and youths detained in adult prisons are more prone to committing suicide than those who are kept in juvenile facilities. Moreover, New York City spends approximately $75,000 each year for every juvenile in a detention facility, while community-based systems, which are more effective, cost two times less, according to Senator Eric Adams.
Aborn also promotes family members’ input while conducting the sentence and treatment plan, and seeks to partner with schools to educate young people and provide after-school programs that serve as alternatives to crime-related activities. Aborn would also like to establish a pilot Youth Mental Health Clinic, where clinical therapists and case managers will respond to youths’ psychological needs and make sentencing recommendations.
In addition, Senator Bill Perkins mentioned that 95 percent of New York City’s incarcerated youths are African Americans and Latinos, while the population of these groups’ youths in the city is less than 67 percent.
In response to that, Aborn suggests the establishment of an “Effectiveness Czar,” who will evaluate the justice system’s performance and fairness by analyzing data in the justice system to determine if the prosecution of certain groups contains biases.
