When a school yard fight erupts at a local high school, the consequences can be life-altering for any 16- and 17-year-olds involved.
Facts
Juvenile crime by the numbers
37,584: Complaints against juveniles in 2010 in North Carolina
30,500: Estimated number of cases that would be added to juvenile justice department if juvenile age is raised to include 16- and 17-year olds
356: Brunswick County total juvenile complaints in 2010
727: New Hanover County total juvenile complaints in 2010
227: Pender County total juvenile complaints in 2010
Sources: 2010 Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention annual report and Youth Accountability Task Force report
If law enforcement decides to press charges, such as simple assault, a conviction could follow the teen for the rest of his or her life, possibly affecting chances at gaining entrance to a college of choice or obtaining certain kinds of work.
That wouldn’t be the case in a state like neighboring Virginia where a similar misdemeanor conviction would be cloaked in secrecy because those teens would be considered juveniles and their criminal records sealed.
North Carolina and New York are the only states that automatically classify 16-year-olds as adults in the eyes of the courts.
That’s something many juvenile justice advocates have been working to change.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers introduced measures this year to the General Assembly that would have gradually raised the juvenile age to 18, but the bills gained little traction as officials focused on cutting the battered state budget.
“I think it’s about educating the legislators. Our work is cut out for us,” said Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, an Orange County Democrat who was co-chairwoman of a task force that studied raising the age.
Changing the system would come at a yearly net cost of $49.2 million to taxpayers, according to a study conducted by the nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice for the legislature.
Many question whether the state has the means to accommodate such a sweeping change anytime soon. Others wonder if there is a better way to address youth crimes.
Under the proposal, the number of children served in the juvenile justice system would almost double, creating a need for new employees, programs and facilities, officials say.
“If you don’t have the money, then you will just create chaos,” said Bob Speight, chief court counselor in New Hanover County. “I think it’s probably the right thing to do for these kids. You’ve just got to have the resources available.”
Those in favor of raising the age argue the state can’t afford not to act.
“Making this change of raising the age is based on policy research. It’s based on what other states have done and are doing, and it’s based on it’s high time North Carolina makes this change,” said Brandy Bynum, director of policy and outreach for Action for Children North Carolina.
Idea progresses
The state’s 1919 Juvenile Court Act established the juvenile age as 15 years or younger.
The proposed legislation this year called for the age to be gradually raised starting in July 2015. Young offenders would be phased into the juvenile system during a four-year period.
Each year, a new six-month age range would become juveniles, beginning with 16-year-olds and working its way up to 18-year-olds by July 2018.
Those 16- and 17-year-olds accused of the most violent crimes such as murder, rape and armed robbery still would face adult charges, under the proposals.
Driving violations also would remain in adult court, and 16- and 17-year-old offenders previously convicted of felonies in adult court would be prosecuted as adults for any subsequent criminal charges.
Those proposals originated as recommendations of the Youth Accountability Task Force, which presented its findings in January to the General Assembly.
The task force formed in 2009, another year that a bill seeking to raise the age failed.
Although reform hasn’t passed, progress has been made, said Janet Mason, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Government who studies juvenile law and assisted the task force.
“I think the Youth Accountability Task Force was a big step because the efforts up until then had pretty much focused on whether to raise the age, and this group kind of began with an assumption of raising the age and what would that look like,” Mason said.
North Carolina has lagged behind other states in raising the juvenile age for some time, according to a 2008 academic article by University of North Carolina School of Law professor Tamar Birkhead titled “Juvenile Court Jurisdiction and the Resistance to Reform.”
A state commission in 1953 found that North Carolina’s juvenile age was “considerably lower than the average of other states,” but didn’t support a change because the state didn’t have adequate facilities for older children, Birkhead wrote.
That theme of strained resources echoes today from just about every corner — prosecutors, juvenile court counselors, judges, lawmakers and even some advocates.
“If you are going to make this change because you feel it’s a benefit to children in our state, then you have to have the funding,” said New Hanover County Assistant District Attorney Lillian Salcines Bright, who prosecuted juvenile crimes for six years.
Paying for change
Raising the juvenile age would require revamping the juvenile justice system.
The sheer number of new offenders in the system would present challenges. Officials would have to process an additional 30,500 charges each year if 16- and 17-year-olds were added to the system, according to the task force report.
In 2010, the department received about 37,500 complaints against juveniles.
Operating an enlarged department would cost about $49.2 million more a year for taxpayers, according to the Vera Institute of Justice’s analysis.
But in the long run, the costs would be outweighed by benefits, the report predicted.
The main financial benefit would come from youths who can obtain higher lifetime earnings without a criminal record and thus benefit the state’s economy, the report predicted. Eventually yearly net benefits of $52.3 million would accrue.
But those financial benefits wouldn’t show up right away because they would accumulate over the course of 35 years through higher lifetime earnings for youths with no criminal records, the report found.
Costs to the state for additional personnel, new facilities and community programs would be more immediate.
Legislators passed a budget effective this month that cut 15 percent of the workforce for the state Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
In New Hanover County, that meant the loss of two court counselors, Speight said.
With that in mind, juvenile justice workers wonder where the resources for expansion would come from.
“Our fervent hope is that the department is adequately funded and that treatment resources are available,” said Chief District Court Judge J.H. Corpening.
He added that juvenile delinquency court would likely be expanded to two or three times a week instead of once if the age was altered.
Kinnaird, the state senator, said the bill was written with the troubled economy in mind since it delays implementation for several years.
“The big question is will (legislators) understand that we are not imposing this to start immediately,” she said. “What we’re doing is simply setting up the system so at the time we have the money we can make the change.”
Effects on youth
The push for raising the age was preceded by several major scientific studies that demonstrated the young brain was still developing its decision-making capabilities in older teenagers.
The U.S. Supreme Court has put limitations on the punishments juveniles can receive. In its 2005 Roper vs. Simmons ruling, the court declared that people younger than 18 years old could not receive the death penalty.
The juvenile justice system is geared toward rehabilitating offenders — a focus that the adult system doesn’t always offer.
A juvenile offender will receive a court counselor to help them through the system and be ordered to attend school and undergo treatment that can include community service and counseling. Families also are involved in the process.
“Juvenile court is a treatment court,” Corpening said. “It’s about reforming behavior, about meeting the needs of the child and the family so that it prevents any further contact with the criminal justice system as an adult.”
Most offenses handled by juvenile justice are relatively minor.
Of the top 25 offenses committed statewide in 2010 by juveniles, 20 were misdemeanors. The most common was simple assault, followed by misdemeanor larceny, simple affray and disorderly conduct in school, according to the juvenile justice department’s most recent annual report.
The first felony offense on the list is No. 5 — felony breaking and/or entering.
Passing reform
If the General Assembly decides to raise the juvenile age, it’s important that the consistency of the law is maintained, said District Attorney Ben David, who represents New Hanover and Pender counties.
“What we don’t need to do is have a schizophrenia about this, treating young people like adults for some purposes but not others,” David said.
For example, 16 is the age a person can consent to sexual intercourse in North Carolina, David pointed out. It’s also the age many youngsters get jobs, drop out of school and learn to drive.
“If you’re going to do this, first and foremost, adequately fund it,” he said. “Second, make sure the other laws, specifically that relate to driving, employment and consensual intercourse lock step with it.”
David said one factor he believes could be playing into the debate is the desire for people to clear their names from youthful indiscretions.
“There is an emphasis like never before on your name as your only asset,” he said.
Beefing up expungement laws — which allow criminal records to be erased — would be another option, he said.
The legislature approved a bill this year that allows 16- and 17-year-olds to apply for certain nonviolent felonies to be expunged.
One of the biggest obstacles to passing reform is gaining public support for the issue, according to the academic research by UNC’s Birkhead.
“I think that the general public needs to be concerned about this issue because we either are going to be preparing productive citizens or people who are going to drain public coffers,” said Bynum, referring to the cost of housing prisoners.
Her organization has collected more than 800 signatures from North Carolinians in support of raising the juvenile age.
She said it will take a grassroots effort to garner more support.
And there are always people who need to be convinced.
Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover, said at this point he doesn’t see the need to change the law.
“I have not experienced a problem with the system,” said Goolsby, who is a defense attorney. “I am sure there are people who disagree.”
When he represents a young, nonviolent offender, he said he tries to steer them toward deferred prosecution if possible.
That means the district attorney’s office will drop the charges if a defendant completes community service, pays a fine or complies with certain treatment requirements.
David said his office tries to give deferred prosecutions for youths who have made a first mistake such as shoplifting or underage drinking.
“We get it. If that’s the worst thing you ever do, then that’s a great life,” David said.