New York state's crime-friendly “age increase” law has left two understaffed Big Apple juvenile facilities overwhelmed with older, hard-core criminals, including murder suspects, a scathing new report finds. It became clear.
Since the state law was passed in 2017, the number of murder suspects held in residential centers designed for misbehaving youth has more than quadrupled, with nearly a dozen cases, according to the City Bureau of Investigation. There have been several assaults and staff and inmates alike have been sent to the hospital. .
A 75-page DOI report released Thursday said the measure and the bail reform bill passed by the state Legislature the following year would “fundamentally change the juvenile detention population” and that additional approaches to discipline “will help deter illegal behavior.” “is insufficient,” he said.
At two youth facilities, Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx and Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, enrollment jumped from 52 in April 2018 to 237 in May 2023, according to the report.
Over the same period, investigators found that the number of people facing murder charges jumped from just seven to more than 230.
Interviews with hundreds of current and former employees of the city's Department of Children's Services, which oversees two juvenile detention facilities, found that overworked staff led to nearly a dozen shocking incidents of violence, including riots that sent staff members out. It has become clear that we have no choice but to deal with this. He was taken to the emergency room, the report states.
“These challenging circumstances require ACS to enhance its behavior management tools to better track and respond to violent and criminal activity,” DOI Director Jocelyn Strauber said in a statement.
The report sparked outrage from state and city politicians as well as law enforcement officials who are being forced to grapple with the effects of controversial criminal justice reforms.
“It's all a shell game,” complained one Brooklyn detective. “In 2018, the people who are in juvenile facilities today would have been in Rikers, so basically the facilities have become satellites of Rikers.”
One law enforcement official said the law “did significant damage to the fabric of our city.”
“The reforms were ideologically based and input from law enforcement experts was minimal,” the official said. “The result is simple: Along with youth crime, youth victimization has skyrocketed. This and bail reform have emboldened criminals, harmed youth, and made New York less safe.”
Critics say Albany's “Raise the Age” initiative is part of sweeping criminal justice reforms pushed by the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, leading to a spike in crime in the Empire State. There is.
The statue was implemented in two phases in 2017 and 2018, raising the state's age of criminal responsibility to 18 and allowing criminal defendants aged 21 and older to be held in juvenile facilities.
Previously, 16-year-old suspects could automatically be tried in adult criminal court.
Following “Raise the Age,” state legislatures also adopted measures that prohibit judges from setting bail in nearly all criminal cases except the most heinous felonies. Despite some adjustments spearheaded by Gov. Cathy Hochul, most crimes remain non-bailable.
“We've always said Raise the Age is nothing more than gang recruitment,” said state Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who voted against the law and bail reform as a state representative. (Republican, Staten Island) said.
“This reduced penalties, sealed records and removed repercussions for the teens who committed the crimes,” she said. “We are now seeing a spike in crime and violent criminals being housed alongside juvenile delinquents.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Hudson Valley), who has pushed cashless legislation in Congress and been a vocal critic of Raise the Age, said: Keeping New Yorkers safe.
“Raising the age and cashless bail puts New Yorkers at increased risk of being harmed by violent repeat offenders and can even lead to officers being held in jail in dangerous conditions, according to a New York City DOI report.” '' he said.
At Horizon and Crossroads, a standard behavior management procedure known as STRIVE (Safety, Teamwork, Respect, Integrity, Values, Engagement) is used to treat older, more violent residents, according to the DOI report. It soon became clear that there was not enough to deal with it.
Already understaffed juvenile facilities suddenly faced an influx of violent residents, with increasing numbers being forced to work overtime to fill slots or replace injured colleagues, investigators said. It was discovered by the people.
According to the report, the new reality has led to several incidents of violence, including on September 8, 2022, when eight residents occupied a multi-purpose room at Crossroads and assaulted staff.
In another incident on January 24, 2022, eight Horizon residents rioted inside the facility, and one suspect was arrested after pulling out a shank and threatening staff. Sixteen officers were involved in quelling the riot, but ultimately the NYPD had to be called.
On April 12, 2020, a Crossroads resident described in a report as “insane” turned on sprinklers and overpowered staff and was held for three hours until police were called.
In other incidents, Crossroads and Horizons employees recovered razors, rocks, metal clubs, metal screws, “a sock with a makeshift shank in it,” and even marijuana, according to the report. That's what it means.
The DOI said it made 15 recommendations to the ACS, of which six were rejected and nine were accepted or had already been implemented by youth care agencies.
An ACS spokesperson said in an email Thursday that the agency has addressed many of the issues raised, particularly since May 2023, the most recent statistics cited in the DOI report.
Between May 2023 and March this year, the average daily population at the two facilities increased by 30%, but the rate of youth-on-youth violence decreased by 35%, the spokesperson said. Staffing levels have increased and the number of worker's compensation claims by employees has plummeted.
The Follow-up Monitor's report found that by June of this year, ACS had made “significant progress” in youth facilities and that “the safety and stability of the facilities continues to benefit from the vision and approach of current ACS facility leaders.” It turned out that there is.
“While serving older youth accused of more serious crimes poses additional challenges, ACS has achieved convincing reductions in the frequency of youth violence,” the agency said in a statement.
“Violence has decreased, support programs have significantly increased, restorative work with youth has made a difference, and we are seeing improved educational outcomes for youth in custody, including an increase in the number of high school graduates.”
Meanwhile, the New York City Council jumped into the fray, passing a bill Wednesday that would require more public data on juvenile crime outcomes, demographics and the juvenile justice system.
“Our juvenile facilities have become training grounds for young offenders,” City Councilwoman Joanne Arriola (R-Queens) said Thursday. “When offenders are sent to juvenile facilities, they are now surrounded almost exclusively by hard-core, dangerous offenders.”
Kevin O'Connor, a former NYPD deputy chief of the youth division who retired in January 2023, called on the city to build another facility to house older juvenile offenders and do more to prevent them from reoffending.
“They're not detaining kids for robbery or gun possession,” he told the Post. “There are literally no rooms at the inn.
“I don't want to see kids go to jail, but what do you do with a kid who's been arrested 17 times in nine months? We need to keep him in custody so he doesn't continue to cause harm.” said O'Connor.
— Additional reporting by Joe Marino and Larry Celona
