Matthew T. Mangino
GateHouse News
August 11, 2017
Being a kid is difficult. For many young teens, misbehaving
can be part of normal development. Teens need to explore and take risks to
understand social and personal boundaries. This process is not new -- it has
been around since time immemorial.
Why are we criminalizing the “normal” behavior of teenagers?
In 2014, according to a new study by the Vera Institute,
there were more than 100,000 cases in the U.S. in which kids were sent to court
for status offenses. A status offense is conduct that is only illegal by virtue
of the person’s status as a minor.
Status offenses include such things as truancy, running
away, curfew violations, underage drinking and the catch-all offense of
incorrigibility -- repeatedly defying parents or teachers. The term status
offense implies that a kid has committed a crime, just by virtue of age. Yet,
they are anything but criminal. Kids -- especially teenagers -- are known to
act up or disobey adults, and engaging in status offense behaviors is not
uncommon.
These are not actions that most people imagine would land a
kid in the juvenile justice system. Unfortunately, everyday teenagers
nationwide are handcuffed, taken to court, or locked up for status offenses.
The Vera Institute study, “Just Kids: When Misbehaving is a
Crime” explores the behaviors of young people. The behaviors may stem from a
variety of factors that can range from normal adolescent development to
underlying problems that need closer attention.
However, families, schools and communities frustrated with
rebellious kids turn to the justice system. The study points out, unfortunate,
but often occurring scenarios when dealing with teens: School officials calling
on law enforcement when kids fight in class; police officers taking runaway
kids to detention facilities when there is nowhere else to take them; and
parents seeking out courts to get help for children they perceive as out of
control.
This process of moving disruptive students from the
principal’s office to the courthouse is known as the school-to-prison pipeline.
When young people are criminalized for their behavior in schools, exposed to
law enforcement -- and the rest of the criminal justice system -- at an early
age, they become more likely to interact with that system in the future.
According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection
during the 2011-2012 school year, schools referred approximately 260,000
students to law enforcement, and approximately 92,000 students were arrested on
school property during the school day or at school-sponsored events.
Such a punitive approach has detrimental consequences.
According to the Vera Institute study, “it criminalizes kids for misbehaviors
that pose little to no risk to public safety and may punish them for
developmental changes and service needs that are beyond their control.”
When it comes to the school building, “You have to
differentiate the security issue and the discipline issue,” Michael Nash, the former
presiding judge of juvenile court in Los Angeles and former president of the
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges told the New York Times.
“Once the kids get involved in the court system, it’s a slippery slope
downhill.”
Some communities have realized the ill effect of
criminalizing status offenses. Local courts have adopted diversion programs for
offenses such as underage drinking or disorderly conduct. However, the
continued, and increasing, presence of law enforcement in schools and the
eagerness of school administrators to push school discipline in the direction
of the police need to be addressed.
The study summed it up this way, “The misuse of courts for
status offense cases is not inevitable. Changing the nation’s approach will
require a concerted effort from all the agencies that play a role in working
with kids.” A laudable goal and one that is not out of reach.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett,
Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was released by
McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him
on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
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