Community advocates meet at Chapter for Juvenile Justice Reform

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Lawmakers at the Capitol are tackling the question of whether locking up young criminals is the best long-term solution to juvenile crime. The Juvenile Justice Reform Act Implementation Commission met today to review data and hear from people in the community. Sen. Royce Duplessis of New Orleans is trying to bridge the gap between the state and the people affected by the system.

“We need to focus more on intervention,” Duplessis said. “Put more focus on mental and behavioral health services so that when these young people are in custody, they’re not worse off when they get out.”

Community advocates today addressed the controversy surrounding the Jackson Parish Detention Center, which some groups say is holding juveniles without a license to do so. Office of Juvenile Justice officials said the facility does not currently house juveniles.

“Advocates and members of the public say the youth are being held in appalling conditions, but then you have the facility official saying something different,” Duplessis said. “That’s a huge issue when you have a disagreement about something so real, so it’s something we need to look deeper into.”

Monday’s group meeting at the chapter oversees juvenile justice reforms in the state. Most of the data presented today was conducted before this year, and Nicolette Gordon of the Office of Juvenile Justice said that means it’s not truly representative of the work the agency is doing now.

“Just this month we opened the Louisiana multi-agency resource center in Lafayette Parish, so those diversion programs that the data was talking about, we’re doing that,” Gordon said. “So I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Duplessis said there needs to be a current and streamlined database so the commission can make the best policy recommendations moving forward. Data highlighted today highlighted that putting young people in prisons often exacerbates the problem. Barrister and community advocate David Utter said we need to do a better job serving young people.

“Kids who commit a serious crime, whether it’s non-violent or the vast majority violent, can be saved,” Utter said. “Putting them in secure care, isolating them from their family and community, that’s not the most effective way to do it.”

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