‘Raise the Age’ to get tough on young offenders, save money, Charlotte Observer

May 2011

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From New Bern Police Chief Frank Palombo, former president of the N.C. Association of Chiefs of Police:

Getting tough on crime and tough on our budget problems can go hand in hand, if N.C. legislators embrace the “Raise the Age” proposal to keep juveniles charged with nonviolent crimes out of the adult criminal justice system.

North Carolina is one of only two states that send all 16- and 17-year-olds into the adult justice system. Young people who cannot legally vote or purchase alcohol can be charged, sentenced and incarcerated as adults, with adults. It’s wrong for them, our society and our future.

While the adult system may sound tougher on crime, that is not the case for most of the young people we see in the justice system: 86 percent of youthful offenders in the adult system right now receive adult probation because of their minor crimes. By “Raising the Age” for nonviolent delinquents and providing proper funding, young people will be required to make restitution to their victims and forced to submit to a far more intensive oversight by the youth justice system than they receive from adult probation.

Youth who commit violent crimes can still be transferred to the adult system. “Raising the Age” will affect only nonviolent youth, and will allow prosecutors, sheriffs, police and prison guards to focus their attention and scarce resources – including prison cells and jail beds – on those individuals who truly threaten public safety and our community.

It makes good sense to treat our young people as redeemable. For most youth, incarceration in an adult system will create not the redemption we seek but a hardened adult offender who is likely to break the law again and again. That is because a 16- or 17-year-old with a permanent criminal record is less likely to finish school and find meaningful employment, and will be more likely to turn to crime as a way to survive. Young Americans, with the proper resources, can be afforded the opportunity to better themselves and make a positive contribution to their community. Our society needs and demands just this.

Legislators know the costs of incarcerating criminals in adult correctional facilities. They also know something must be done to mitigate those ever-rising costs. Providing a way to keep youthful offenders from becoming adult criminals is one way to affect our increasing adult prison population and change the lives of these young people. A study by the North Carolina Youth Accountability Planning Task Force this year found that the state could save $50 million a year by “Raising the Age,” based on lower recidivism rates and lower crime rates.

Some will say that these necessary reforms will demand an upfront cost when resources are scarce, but the long term implications are this: lower future crime rates and lower costs to incarcerate youthful offenders.

It’s time for lawmakers to embrace the “Raise the Age” bill and bring North Carolina in line with national norms. Getting tough on crime has to include getting smart on crime. If the result is a lower crime rate, putting kids on a path to productive lives and saving millions of dollars in the process, that seems the very definition of a win-win situation. I strongly urge all of our state representatives and senators to support this bill to make all of North Carolina a safer community.

For The Record offers commentaries from various sources. The views are the writer’s, and not necessarily those of the Observer editorial board.