Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Juvenile corrections could be next venue for restorative justice in Texas

By Scott Henson of Grits For Breakfast

I've got much more to write about when I get a chance, but wanted to record this thought: In Texas, perhaps the Texas Youth Commission's transformation might be an opportunity for testing restorative justice principles in the Lone Star State.

On Sunday night, Dr. Gordon Bazemore of Florida Atlantic University spoke on the topic of restorative justice and youth crime, aiming to go "beyond treatment and punishment for juveniles." He pointed out that in US states where restorative justice initiatives had been tried, about 20, they were mostly used in juvenile justice instead of adult corrections settings. Bazemore had just returned from Northern Ireland, where he said these extra-judicial models are now the primary approach to juvenile crime. The European Union, he said, requires all member countries to use a version of RJ principles in their juvenile justice systems.

As he spoke it struck me that, with the implosion in Texas juvenile corrections this spring and the "Sunset" review of the Texas Youth Commission that will be performed between now and 2009, Texas has perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity to reinvent its juvenile justice system to implement some of these alternative models.

Indeed, some RJ programs that experts at this conference say can be documented to succeed at reducing recidivism and crime might actually be more appropriate in a juvenile setting than for adults. A "sentencing circle" for a child would inevitably include the victim and any other injured parties, parents and relatives, neighbors, church congregants, basically anyone with an interest in the child. (Sentencing circles are sometimes used in Travis County, though most juvie sentences are still decided by a judge.) By contrast, adults who may not live where they grew up and be more isolated in society might not always be as good a candidate for such peer-centered sentencing.

Radical change is possible now for Texas juvenile justice that was inconceivable a short while back. Texas youth prisons have rapidly reduced their inmate populations in a fashion that would have been a political impossibility a year ago before the TYC scandal. If something as big as reducing the inmate population by 1/3 and sending them back into the community is politically viable, surely some of these RJ ideas could be implemented which are actually popular with victims and the public.

The juvenile justice legislation Texas passed in 2007 was only preliminary. Legislators installed new oversight, but declined for the most part to address the root, structural failings nearly everyone acknowledges in the Texas juvenile justice system. That's why TYC will get a full "Sunset" review in the 81st Legislature in 2009 analyzing the agency from top to bottom and recommending reforms. I'd like to see restorative justice advocates (and to judge by this conference there are quite a few in Texas) focus some of their energies on engaging this formal, massive change process in the juvenile justice arena.

Many RJ techniques have a local component, so convincing county judges, prosecutors and probation departments to participate would be criticial. OTOH, they're struggling with unfunded mandates now from youth sent home early and the refusal of misdemeanants into TYC, so they too might be at a point where they're willing to change how they do business. It's sure worth a shot.

Some big things will change regarding Texas juvenile justice in the next legislative session, nearly without question. Whether those changes will be informed by best practices and cutting edge, victim-centered restorative justice techniques, or just a ham-handed shuffling of incarcerated youth between jurisdictions, today no one can tell. But now's the time for anyone who'd like to see RJ techniques tested in Texas to push their agenda for juveniles. You couldn't ask for a better opportunity for real change than we've got in the next two years.

Pegasus News content partner - Grits For Breakfast

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