State attorney proposes juvenile justice changes to combat youth violence

ORLANDO, Fla. — With the perception that youth violence is on the rise in Central Florida, a local state attorney is proposing changes that she believes could keep teens from hopping in and out of jail.

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Speaking to a crowd of Parramore parents this week, 9th Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell (D) said she doesn’t believe the juvenile system is equipped to handle the problems of today.

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“When we had kids who were breaking into cars and skipping school and trespassing, that was one thing,” she said. “We have kids holding people at gunpoint and shooting at people.”

The juvenile system is set up differently than the adult system because teens’ brains are still developing and their reasoning and decision-making processes haven’t been fully formed. It comes with lighter punishments focused more on rehabilitation, so young people can lead productive lives after completing their sentences.

It has also been the subject of a lot of criticism.

“It’s long been the Judiciary’s position, as well as the state attorney’s office position, we need to put more teeth into the juvenile system sanctions,” Legal Analyst Bill Sheaffer said.

Worrell listed three proposals she said she’s pitching to lawmakers. First, the ability to hold onto young offenders – 12 to 14 years old -- who commit violent crimes longer, in order to have a better chance at changing their lives.

“Let’s say they commit an armed robbery,” she said. “They go to a program for three months, six months, and then they’re back in the very environment that led them down that road to begin with.”

For older teens, she’d like the state to extend possible punishments past their 21st birthday to give the state a middle ground between a short juvenile sentence and a long adult one.

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Finally, she is asking that state attorneys have more influence over the sentencing process, rather than a recommendation that might get tossed out by the system’s rigid guidelines.

“Their criteria provides almost a very narrow option to the court as to what sentence can be imposed,” Sheaffer explained. “I’d scrap the whole sentencing scheme for juvenile justice and rebuild it from scratch.”

Criminal defense attorney Rajan Joshi agreed some changes to the system were needed – especially giving attorneys the ability to work out a sentence the two sides mutually felt was best for the teen, similar to an adult plea deal.

However, rather than extend sentence lengths, he said resources should be added to mentorship and other reform programs, which he said have been long underfunded.

“A longer period of time does not necessarily mean that they’re going to be rehabilitated if we’re dealing with the same lack of funding, lack of resources and lack of proper guidance,” he said. “These kids are going in and out of the system, because there isn’t real resources there to have to productively rehabilitate them.”

Joshi added that he believed parents and community members played a crucial role in making sure teens didn’t end up in the system to begin with, or successfully moved on after their time was done.

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“It’s important to look at the kid as a whole and not just compartmentalize what the program is gearing towards,” he said. “I think there’s a lot a lot more things that can be done.”

Worrell was not available to answer follow up questions after her presentation, including whether she had already spoken to state lawmakers about her ideas.

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