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Young
Inmates More Likely Than Adults
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Young Inmates More Likely Than Adults to Return to Crime (010801) On Jul 31, 2001 Amanda Riddle of the Associated Press reported that a recent study in the State of Florida shows that young inmates are more likely than adults to return to crime after being released from prison. Youth advocates say the study supports their criticism of Florida's stringent laws for young criminals. A 1996 study that showed Florida youth transferred to adult court were a third more likely to commit another offense than those sent to the juvenile system for the same crime. |
| On Jul
31, 2001 Amanda Riddle of the Associated Press reported that a recent
study in the State of Florida shows that young inmates are more likely
than adults to return to crime after being released from prison.
While a state official said the findings support national research showing juveniles' recidivism rates are higher than adults', youth advocates say the study supports their criticism of Florida's stringent laws for young criminals. The laws, which allow prosecutors to try juveniles as adults and subject them to mandatory prison sentences, came under scrutiny in the wake of two recent South Florida murder cases where 14-year-old boys were sentenced as adults. Lionel Tate received a life sentence in March for fatally beating a 6-year-old family friend. Nathaniel Brazill was sentenced Friday to 28 years in prison for shooting his teacher. The study by the state Department of Corrections analyzed recidivism rates for inmates released from prison since July 1993. It included only those arrests that resulted in convictions. The report found the following rearrest rates for different populations of inmates :
"Once they get a felony conviction and go to prison, this has lifelong consequence in terms of your job prospects and what you then can do when you come out," said Melissa Sickmund, senior research associate with the Pittsburgh, Pa.-based National Center for Juvenile Justice. The study also found that young inmates return to crime sooner than older ones. It took 18 months for 47 percent of inmates under 18 to commit another offense, compared to four years for those 25 to 34 years old. "Putting kids in the adult system is pretty much giving up on them, as these data prove," said Vincent Schiraldi, president of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in Washington, D.C. Florida is one of the nation's leaders in sending youth to adult prisons. The state transferred 3,297 youths to the adult system in 1999-2000, compared to 5,350 in 1995-96. The reduction reflects a nationwide drop in crime. Schiraldi said the state should keep more young offenders in the juvenile justice system, where educational, vocational and substance abuse treatment programs provide them a greater chance of turn their lives around. But Bill Bales, bureau chief of the Correction Department's Bureau of Research and Data Analysis, said the study wasn't intended to evaluate the effectiveness of the adult prison system for rehabilitation compared to juvenile facilities. The study's findings that Florida's youth return to the prison system at higher rates than adults "is really consistent with virtually all studies that examine recidivism," he said. Bales also said that it's the worst youth who are transferred to the adult system, so they're more likely to return to a life of crime than the general adult population, who have been incarcerated for a broader range of offenses. However, Schiraldi pointed to a 1996 study that showed Florida youth transferred to adult court were a third more likely to commit another offense than those sent to the juvenile system for the same crime. He praised a new state law that will keep juveniles housed separately from adults inmates until age 18. But judges, not prosecutors, should be given the power to transfer juveniles to the adult system, he said. "I still think there's room for a lot more reform in the Florida system," he said. On the Net: Department of Corrections: http://www.dc.state.fl.us/ Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice: http://www.cjcj.org This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGA7SV0DUPC.html |
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Prisoners Under Age 18 When Released: 51.3% rearrested
within 2 years.