Marcia Morey
School skirmishes are a part of growing up. Kids fight and should be held accountable appropriately. But for Cydney Shirley, a fight at school when she was 16 led to her being arrested and charged as an adult.
That school skirmish and its subsequent adult charges could lead to crushing consequences, not just for Cydney, but for you as a North Carolina taxpayer.
If Cydney lived in a state other than North Carolina or New York, these minor charges would have immediately gone to the juvenile court system. There would be tough consequences (intensive supervision, restitution, parental accountability), but none that would tattoo her for life as an “adult” offender.
It is time that North Carolina got in step with the rest of the nation to supervise low-level offenders in the youth system. Again, that’s low-level offenders. Youths charged with a violent offense would still face prosecution in the adult criminal system.
Common-sense legislation before our General Assembly this spring would raise the age of youth jurisdiction to move low-level 16- and 17-year-olds into our youth justice system — which is actually stricter on those it supervises and much more likely to turn them into productive and responsible citizens.
The “Raise the Age” legislation is designed to take the burden of handling low-level youths out of the already overtaxed adult system and place them under the supervision of the youth system, where they can get tight court supervision requiring community service, where substance abuse and mental health treatment would be ordered, and where parents would be held accountable.
Rest assured, violent youthful offenders would remain in the adult criminal system. Raising the age will affect only youths, under the age of 18, who are charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent, low-level offenses. These are young people who, if left in the adult system, could easily slip into a life of repeat offenses.
Under Raise the Age legislation, we can stop the cycle of recidivism and save money in the long term by providing appropriate and swift punishment, access to evidence-based treatment, and court-ordered parental involvement. National research has proven that providing youths with access to community-based rehabilitative services has been proven more effective and less costly than placing them in locked facilities.
In this quest, it is important that our law enforcement and court officers have every possible advantage as they work to keep our communities safe. In these dire economic times, government must act in a fiscally responsible way to ensure that convicted violent youths are no longer a risk to community safety, and that nonviolent youths are diverted from a path of criminal behavior. It is a smart way to invest limited public taxpayer dollars while providing appropriate punishment and rehabilitative services that will help our young people grow into business, civic and family leaders.
The rest of the country recognizes that, just like the kids we all know and love who have made a mistake, children who temporarily go off track should not be stigmatized for life as an adult criminal. Let’s invest in what works by holding these young people accountable for their mistakes, keeping them in school and affording them a structured, well-supervised second chance. It is time for North Carolina to join 48 other states and “Raise the Age.”