NEW CONNECTICUT LAW WILL GIVE MORE YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS ANONYMITY

Backers Of Bill Say Intent To Give Youths A Better Chance At Rehabilitation

Putting them in jail should be the last thing we do. Getting them the
services they need and back in school should be the first thing we do.

State Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven

After Jan. 1, if police charge a 16- or 17-year-old with shooting someone
in a Connecticut school, they will not be able to reveal the suspect's
identity. Nor will they be able to identify a 16- or 17-year-old charged
with robbing a convenience store at gunpoint, say, or one charged with
manslaughter or with selling drugs in a local schoolyard.

The impending blackout of the information in such cases is the result of
legislation overwhelmingly approved by the General Assembly this year and
signed into law by Gov. M. Jodi Rell. Known as Public Act 05-232, it
changes various aspects of the state's youthful offender program for 16-
and 17-year-olds.

Currently, when someone of that age is arrested, his or her name, age,
address and the charges are made public by police. The suspect may then
apply for acceptance into the youthful offender program. Once the suspect
does, a judge seals the case file and all court proceedings and the
disposition of the case are kept secret. Those in the program receive
counseling and other youth services designed to keep them from breaking the
law again.

If a judge finds that the suspect is ineligible for the program because of
the seriousness of the charges or a previous criminal record, the suspect's
court records and appearances are again made public.

But as a result of the new law, youths accused of most crimes will
automatically be deemed eligible for youthful offender status as soon as
they are arrested. Police departments across the state have been told that
they can no longer release the names of the 16- and 17-year-olds they
arrest, even if they are charged with serious felonies.

"Presumption of eligibility means that the file is sealed from the time of
arrest and for the first court appearance," states a summary of the law
given to police chiefs and other administrators. The law also requires that
a case's file be sealed unless it is transferred to the adult docket.

The law does allow police to release the names of 16- and 17-year-olds
charged with crimes that are ineligible for the youthful offender program,
including murder, first-degree sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping and
arson. Police also may release information about those charged with risk of
injury to a minor and several varieties of second- and third-degree sexual
assault. Teenagers also are ineligible for the youthful offender program if
they have been convicted of a felony in adult court or have been previously
determined to be serious juvenile offenders.

But police will not be able to release the names of 16- and 17-years-olds
charged with a host of serious crimes, such as manslaughter, first-degree
assault, attempted murder or rape. They also will be prohibiting from
identifying those arrested for first-degree assault of an elderly, blind,
disabled, pregnant or mentally retarded person, robbery, assault on a
police officer, escape from custody, burglary, first-degree larceny (of
more than $10,000), possession of child pornography and the manufacturing
of bombs and chemical, biological or radioactive weapons.

Police will not be able to release the names of those arrested on any drug
charge, including selling drugs within 1,500 feet of school.

Suspects' names and the charges against them would become public at some
later date if a judge rules the teenager is ineligible for the youthful
offender program. The law does allow a prosecutor to petition a judge to
have a youth treated as an adult.

Stonington police Lt. Darren Stewart said the biggest change for police
departments is that they will have to reprogram their computer systems so
that the names of 16- and 17-year-olds are not printed out on the daily
arrest logs released to the media. In cases involving youths charged with
serious offenses or who are not otherwise eligible for the youthful
offender program, police will have to issue separate press releases, he said.

New London police Capt. William Dittman said the change is a burden when it
comes to recordkeeping because of the information that has to be sealed.

"But it won't make any difference when it comes to who we arrest or how we
arrest them," he said.

The bill that led to the new law was introduced by state Rep. Toni
Walker, D-New Haven.

Walker said last week that she's "not trying to expose the public to
deviant criminals."

She said she was trying to get youths the services they need to become
productive members of society instead of having them saddled with a
criminal record and lumped together with serious adult offenders.

"Putting them in jail should be the last thing we do," she said. "Getting
them the services they need and back in school should be the first thing we
do."

In her job running an alternative program for New Haven Adult Education,
Walker said she comes into contact with many 16- and 17-years-olds affected
by the youthful offender law. She said many of them make typical adolescent
mistakes and wind up behind bars. She said she's heard many heart-wrenching
stories from parents about such youths who have mental health issues or
other problems.

"We're expecting 16-and 17-year-olds to be adults, and as a parent of two
children I know they don't become adults until they are in their 20s," she
said. "We have to provide support for them if they are arrested so they get
back on track and become contributing members of society instead of being a
drain on society. That's difficult to do when they have a criminal record."

During the Judiciary Committee's consideration of the bill, various youth
advocacy groups submitted testimony from experts that children do not fully
mature before 18 and often do not grasp the consequences of their actions.
The groups pointed out that Connecticut is just one of three states to
treat teenagers as young as 16 as adults, New York and Virginia being the
others. They also had concerns about the impact of mixing 16- and
17-year-olds with older offenders in the adult system.

Just two legislators, state Rep. Paul Doyle, a Democrat from Wethersfield,
and Claudia Powers, a Republican from Greenwich, opposed the bill when it
came up for a vote.

Doyle, an attorney who deals with youthful offender issues, said last week
that while he supports the current youthful offender program he did not
support its expansion.

"There are some very serious crimes here that should not be treated as a
youthful offender (crime)," he said.

Walker admitted that she wasn't interested in tinkering with what crimes
are eligible for youthful offender status but wanted the law changed so
most youths are eligible for it. The revised law also limits the maximum
prison term for a youthful offender to four years. In the past it could not
exceed the maximum term authorized for the crime, which in some cases is
more than four years.

Doyle said that once there is a public outcry about a serious youthful
offender case, the legislature will have to revise the law to make more
crimes ineligible for youthful offender status.

Powers said she voted against the bill because she did not want to see some
of the more serious crimes moved out of the adult court into the youthful
offender system. She said she also was opposed to a provision in the law
that allows a youth charged with having consensual sex with someone between
the ages of 13 and 16 to be treated as a youthful offender. She said she
has always felt that there can not be consensual sex involving a 13-year-old.

"I think people bought the argument that these kids will get better
services in the juvenile court so we'll look the other way on the serious
issues," she said.