[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 14, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1238-E1239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             THE COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF YOUNG OFFENDERS ACT

                                 ______


                             HON. RON WYDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 13, 1995
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Comprehensive 
Survey of Young Offenders Act. While Congress has spent much time and 
effort, and is about to spend vast sums on measures to address crime 
committed by adults, it is juvenile crime that is increasing 
exponentially. Particularly ominous, experts in the field report that 
while one can collect voluminous information on the national patterns 
and problems of adult crime and the adult criminal justice system, 
basic statistical data on the juvenile justice system is sketchy at 
best. Congress, States and localities have little or no comprehensive 
data on what the career record of a young offender looks like or how 
juvenile offenders flow through our country's juvenile justice systems.
  A 1994 FBI study on major crimes reported that while the number of 
murders committed by adults 25 or older dropped 20 percent, the number 
of homicides committed by 18-24-year-olds increased 65 percent, and 
those by 14-17-year-olds increased 165 percent. However, according to 
several experts who study juvenile crime, by the year 2005 the number 
of teenagers in this county will increase 23 percent, and youth crimes 
will increase dramatically as well.
  To effectively address youth crime, the Federal Government and the 
States need clear, straightforward data on how the current juvenile 
system functions. I have worked closely with Dr. James Q. Wilson, the 
noted UCLA criminologist, to meet this need through the legislation I 
introduce today. Dr. Wilson correctly pointed out that instead of 
fighting youth [[Page E1239]] crime with grandiose rhetorical 
statements like harsh treatment and mollycoddling, it is time to 
address the issue with a commonsense look at the facts.
  There is a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence that indicates 
the juvenile system is in trouble. For example:
  In Portland, my hometown, the Oregonian, described a case where a 
child committed 50 crimes, 32 of which were felonies, before the 
juvenile justice system took action to protect the community.
  According to New York magazine, in New York State, 30,000 juveniles 
picked up for misdemeanors in 1993 were issued youth division cards and 
then released--essentially the paperwork was filed and the child walked 
out.
  In Chicago, in the case of Yummy Sandifer, Newsweek reported that he 
averaged a felony a month for the last year and a half of his life (23 
felonies and 5 misdemeanors in all). He was actually convicted of two 
felonies in juvenile court and nothing ever happened to him. Finally, 
he killed someone and was killed himself.
  A system like this neither serves the children who commit crimes nor 
the community it is supposed to protect. Nationally, only 50 percent of 
juvenile cases even go to juvenile court. Most cases are handled by 
some form of social services division. The majority of juveniles who do 
go to court are given probation.
  While this information indicates a system that is overwhelmed with 
violent offenders and doesn't have the legal remedies necessary to deal 
with such an influx, a broad overview of the problem is missing. The 
Comprehensive Survey of Young Offenders Act, would help Congress, 
States, and localities fill the holes in our knowledge of juvenile 
crime and our country's juvenile services. Right now there is little or 
no comprehensive data on the patterns of crime for young offenders, how 
many times a young offender goes through the juvenile justice system or 
which punishments or programs effectively protect the community and 
reduce recidivism.
  This legislation would require the Bureau of Justice Statistics [BJS] 
to look into these issues--to survey available data on the crimes 
juveniles commit, to examine how young offenders flow through the 
juvenile justice system, and to report the outcomes of juvenile cases 
that are both petitioned to juvenile court and those that are handled 
informally.
  Additionally, my legislation would require the BJS to design and 
estimate costs of a program that will improve data collection on young 
offenders in the States. While many States are moving in the direction 
of juvenile reform, few systematically evaluate the outcomes in their 
juvenile justice programs.
  It is obvious that the rate of juvenile crime is climbing. What 
Congress now needs to do is take a comprehensive look at how our 
country's juvenile systems are handling that increase in crime and then 
evaluate where our national policy needs to go to address this enormous 
challenge.


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