[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 4, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        INTRODUCTION OF S. 2471

 Mr. COHEN. Mr. President, as ranking member of the 
Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice, I supported the provision in the 
Senate-passed version of the crime bill authorizing grants for juvenile 
detention facilities. I was very disappointed when this grant program 
was eliminated by the conferees and therefore am pleased to join 
Senator Kohl in introducing the Juvenile Corrections Act of 1994.
  This bill will make $772 million available over 5 years for grants to 
State and local governments to build and operate secure facilities for 
violent and chronic juvenile offenders. These funds are sorely needed. 
Unfortunately, violent crime by juveniles is increasing rapidly. In 
just 7 years, the number of youths arrested for homicide has almost 
doubled. Some States and municipalities, however, are often ill-
equipped to deal with this explosion in violent juvenile crime.
  The juvenile justice system was developed, just after the turn of the 
century, based on the premise that delinquent youths should be treated 
differently from adults because, due to their age, they were less able 
to comprehend the gravity of their criminal actions and were more 
amenable to treatment and rehabilitation than adult criminals. 
Consequently, the majority of juvenile crimes were not punished 
severely. Juveniles who committed more serious crimes were placed in 
residential, or nonsecure detention facilities.
  The system in place today is no longer appropriate for the problems 
we currently see on the streets. We now have 13-, 14-, and 15-year-olds 
committing cold-blooded murder. The September 28 edition of U.S.A. 
Today reports the case of Craig Price who by age 15 was convicted of 
brutally killing 4 people, including an 8- and a 10-year-old. Robert 
``Yummy'' Sandifer, the 11-year-old who gained notoriety a couple of 
weeks ago after killing a young girl and then being executed by fellow 
gang members, had a rap sheet with 28 entries at the time of his death.
  Our juvenile justice system is not properly equipped to handle the 
increasing number of individuals such as these, who have become violent 
criminals at a young age and must be removed from their communities for 
an extended period of time. This bill seeks to address this 
shortcoming.
  Not only are secure facilities for violent juvenile offenders 
necessary to protect communities from these dangerous individuals, but 
they also serve the important function of separating violent youth from 
others in the juvenile justice system. One of the primary aims of the 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 was to 
segregate juvenile offenders from adult criminals so the youth would 
not be negatively influenced by adults convicted of, or awaiting trial 
on, serious criminal charges. It is also important to separate youth 
that have committed minor crimes from violent juvenile offenders so 
that the time spent in the juvenile justice system is dedicated to 
rehabilitation and treatment rather than learning more about crime. As 
a Justice Department official has stated, ``we are creating monsters'' 
in some of our juvenile detention facilities. The purpose of this bill 
is to address this problem by helping States to create separate 
facilities for violent youth offenders.
  Our approach to juvenile justice cannot focus on detention alone. 
Efforts must be made to provide the counseling and services necessary 
so, upon release, those who entered a juvenile facility will not 
present a threat to their communities and will become productive 
citizens. Consequently, the bill requires each facility funded by a 
Federal grant to provide educational, vocational, and lifeskills 
training, substance abuse treatment, and intensive post-release 
supervision and services.
  Although this bill concentrates on detention, we must not forget that 
delinquency prevention and early, meaningful intervention in the lives 
of troubled youth is the most effective, and least costly method of 
combating juvenile crime. Experts estimate that less than 10 percent of 
youthful offenders are responsible for the most serious juvenile 
crimes. The juvenile justice system must be able to respond effectively 
to the needs of the remaining 90 percent of this country's delinquent 
youth and other at-risk children. This involves successfully preventing 
at-risk children from becoming tomorrow's generation of career felons 
by intervening early in their lives. Services such as counseling, 
vocational training and drug treatment must be made available in all 
parts of the juvenile justice system. A child should not have to become 
a violent or chronic criminal before society takes action.
  The grants to States and localities provided by this bill would be 
funded by setting aside 10 percent of the money authorized for prison 
construction in the recently enacted Violent Crime Prevention and Law 
Enforcement Act. Given the rapid escalation of juvenile crime, and the 
difficulties the juvenile justice system faces in dealing with violent 
youthful offenders, use of these funds to support the construction and 
staffing of secure facilities for juveniles will make a substantial 
contribution to the battle against crime.
  I commend Senator Kohl for introducing this legislation. The Senator 
realizes, as do I, that serious juvenile crime has become a significant 
component of this country's overall crime problem and must be 
addressed. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this 
legislation.

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