SAN DIEGO, Jan. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Recover touches on the justice system in the New Jersey, and it’s lack of diversion offers to its states teens. A new study conducted by the ACLU has found a staggering amount of arrests for minor crimes from 2014 to 2016. Offenses such as loitering, and breaking curfew results in jail sentences, instead of community service, or other comparable alternatives.
The two types of diversion options are simply not being used. The minor violations can be addressed by two types of interventions. “Curbside warnings” consist of a minor slap on the wrist, where officers give verbal warnings to teens without bringing them in to the station to make a formal complaint. “Stationhouse adjustments” are used when the offense is a bit more serious and require the feat tactic that includes visiting the police department headquarters and include conditions like community service or informal probation.
Over the three year span of study, at most only 10% of juvenile arrests were offered diversion programs. Each year that percentage declined to 7% and then 6% in 2016. Some counties didn’t even submit their reports to the county prosecutors due to complete lack of use of the diversion program or lack of care towards the alternative.
White adolescents made up nearly 70% of the juvenile drug arrests but were offered 75% more of the diversion programs for drug, alcohol, and tobacco related offenses. Compared to 28% of black juveniles arrested for drug, alcohol and tobacco related offenses were offered 11.3% of the diversion programs in 2015.
The American Civil Liberties Union hope to bring light to this inequality by having perimeters set up in the state that would require departments to electronically submit each juvenile arrest to keep track of the programs, and have officers trained on how to provide the programs to young offenders.
Author: Kevin Leonard
Organization: TheRecover.com
Address: 27420 Jefferson Ave, Temecula, CA 92590
Phone: 888-510-3898
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