The Atlanta Lawyer April 2013 | Page 12

LAW DAY 2013 Georgia's Juvenile Justice System: High Cost, Low Returns By Hon. Michael P. Boggs Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Co-Chair - 2012 Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians F ocused on improving public safety and a desire to be more fiscally responsible, the 2011 Legislature established the Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians (the Council). (1) that Georgia should create a two-class system within the Designated Felony Act that would allow for different sentencing options depending on the severity of the offense; and Georgia’s prison population has doubled since 1990 to nearly 56,000 inmates, making Georgia’s prison population the 4th largest in the United States. In Georgia, 1 in 13 citizens is under correctional control and the State spends in excess of $1.1 billion dollars in the corrections system. Incredibly, Georgians are no safer, as the adult recidivism rate is nearly 30 percent. Moreover, Georgia’s 8% projected prison growth will cost $264 million. The 2011 Council recommendations, which were included in HB 1176 as passed in 2012, are intended to flat line this growth and increase public safety.2 (2) that Georgia should prohibit the commitment of status offenders and certain misdemeanants to out-of-home facilities.” Governor Deal extended the work of the Council in 2012 to address Georgia’s juvenile justice system. The Council released its Report in December 2012, and most of its recommendations are included in HB 242 and HB 349 currently pending in the Legislature.3 The Council found that Georgia taxpayers have not received a sufficient public safety return on their juvenile justice investment. The state spends nearly $200 million per year to operate secure out-of-home juvenile facilities at a cost of roughly $90,000 per bed per year.4 Despite these enormous costs, more than 50% of all youth in the justice system (and 64% of those released from a secure facility) are readjudicated delinquent or convicted of a criminal offense within three years of release. Moreover, nearly one in four of the youth in these costly facilities committed low-level offenses including misdemeanors or status offenses, 40% were assessed as low risk, and 58% committed nonviolent offenses.5 We discovered that we can improve public safety outcomes by treating these low-risk nonviolent offenders in the community. Unfortunately, we also discovered that secure commitments are often the only sentencing option as Georgia has limited or no community-based programs for youth. This data played an important role in the Council’s numerous recommendations, chief among them: 12 THE ATLANTA LAWYER April 2013 The Council also recommended that low-risk, nonviolent juveniles be treated in proven "evidence based" community programs built through a fiscal incentive community grant program funded with $6 million in state funds. The Council’s 2012 recommendations are intended to hold juvenile offenders accountable, increase public safety, and save Georgia’s taxpayers nearly $85 million through 2018. Importantly, these recommendations modeled after successful programs initiated in other states, are “smart-oncrime” in their approach to criminal justice reform and will go a long way to accomplishing the goals of improved public safety and fiscal responsibility. ▪ 1 The national average is 1:43. Georgia leads the United States in this statistic. 2 Full text of HB 1176 can be found at http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/ en-US/display/20112012/HB/1176. 3 The Council made fifteen recommendations for juvenile justice reform of which nine (9) are included in HB 242 while six (6) are handled through either the budget process or administratively. For more information, see the full Council Report at http://tinyurl.com/specialcouncilreport. The report also includes nine (9) recommendations for additional adult criminal justice reform. Full text of HB 242 can be found at http://www.legis.ga.gov/ Legislation/en-US/display/20132014/HB/242. Full text of HB 349 can be found at http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20132014/ HB/349. 4 These facilities include Youth Development Campuses (YDC’s) at $91,126 per bed per year and Regional Youth Detention Centers (RYDC’s) at $88,155 per bed per year. Source: Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. 5 A “status offender” is a juvenile who commits an offense that would not be a crime if committed by an adult; in other words, the juvenile’s act is an offense only because the perpetrator is a child. Such offenses include, but are not limited to, truancy, running away from home, incorrigibility, and unruly behavior. The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association