Senator Hillyard,
I realize you are quite busy, but I am contacting you today about an idea that could benefit those youth who are just entering the juvenile justice system. I am aware that you are on Utah State Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee, and may be able to propose some changes in the law that could help reduce the recidivism rates among juveniles. A little bit about my background: I am currently a MSW student at Utah State University, and have spent over 25 years in Law Enforcement. For my undergraduate internship I spent several months at First District Juvenile Probation. Because I have seen troubled youth enter the juvenile court system and later graduate into the adult court system, I wonder if the handling of certain …show more content…
Kids who are on probation/jurisdiction (unofficial probation) will be given a three-month deadline to get their particular counseling hours done. This can be difficult when it takes them two months to get into a therapist, and then possibly 6-12 weeks of counseling. This puts them over the time limit and they may have to go to Court for contempt. A contempt charge now puts the lower risk youth in potential contact with those higher risk offenders. A juvenile can petition the Court for an extension which is often granted, however, that comes with filing paperwork with the Court and waiting for the Judge to sign the order. I am aware that everyone has the right for due process; however, the youth has already opted to handle the case non-judicially. Studies have shown that youth that are referred to Juvenile Court have a higher likelihood of reoffending than those who are not sent to Court (Effects of juvenile court exposure on crime in young adulthood, 2013). A non-judicial assessment would help keep kids out of court and possibly from reoffending and victimizing the
I realize you are quite busy, but I am contacting you today about an idea that could benefit those youth who are just entering the juvenile justice system. I am aware that you are on Utah State Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee, and may be able to propose some changes in the law that could help reduce the recidivism rates among juveniles. A little bit about my background: I am currently a MSW student at Utah State University, and have spent over 25 years in Law Enforcement. For my undergraduate internship I spent several months at First District Juvenile Probation. Because I have seen troubled youth enter the juvenile court system and later graduate into the adult court system, I wonder if the handling of certain …show more content…
Kids who are on probation/jurisdiction (unofficial probation) will be given a three-month deadline to get their particular counseling hours done. This can be difficult when it takes them two months to get into a therapist, and then possibly 6-12 weeks of counseling. This puts them over the time limit and they may have to go to Court for contempt. A contempt charge now puts the lower risk youth in potential contact with those higher risk offenders. A juvenile can petition the Court for an extension which is often granted, however, that comes with filing paperwork with the Court and waiting for the Judge to sign the order. I am aware that everyone has the right for due process; however, the youth has already opted to handle the case non-judicially. Studies have shown that youth that are referred to Juvenile Court have a higher likelihood of reoffending than those who are not sent to Court (Effects of juvenile court exposure on crime in young adulthood, 2013). A non-judicial assessment would help keep kids out of court and possibly from reoffending and victimizing the