Face the Facts: Discussing youth crime and the justice system

In recent years, teenage crime here in Connecticut has been a major concern for police departments and mayors alike.

One example: car thefts spurred by a post on TikTok led to a string of thefts of Hyundais and Kias across our state. And that actually continues today. In fact, Naugatuck reported that problem reemerged this week there.

So during the last legislative session, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin proposed sentencing reform for repeat offenders including juveniles. That proposal was signed by mayors and police chiefs across the state. But should we continue in that vein?

NBC Connecticut's Mike Hydeck spoke with Christina Quaranta, the executive director of the Connecticut Justice Alliance.

Mike Hydeck: So first of all, one of the goals of your organization is to try to change the way people under the age of 18 are dealt with when they get into the judicial system. What do you would like to see changed?

Christina Quaranta: That's correct. And we're actually now focusing on under 25. But in this conversation, under 18 applies in terms of, you know, what we're talking about today, diversionary opportunities. So in terms of car thefts, and what you brought up at the top of this, we've seen the data that's come out. And we know that, for instance, the judicial branch has a really successful suspended sentence motor vehicle program where kids go through it, and they're able to be diverted from the judicial system, have an opportunity to sort of restore any harm that was done, go through programming that's needed, have basic needs met and they leave. That's it, end of story. That has a high success rate and a low recidivism rate for young people. We'd like to see more of that.

Mike Hydeck: Well, that's good, because that actually flies in the face of some of the stories we've done, where we've actually talked to police officers who say they get, you know, a little bit of static from the kid in the backseat saying, I'm going to be out in 20 minutes. I could be doing this again tomorrow. They've heard that. That has happened in some cases, but in your tickets, not the overwhelming way things meter out, right?

Christina Quaranta: We don't think it's the overwhelming way. And I also would say if there's a child that's saying, I'm going to be out in 20 minutes and do this again, I would say that that intervention is the wrong intervention. And we should be addressing the root cause of that child's problem, instead of saying, Okay, well, then, you know, I'll be back in 20 minutes to pick you up if you do this again.

Mike Hydeck: So if they are, and of course, they have had to arrest some people more than once, if they are repeat offenders, and they didn't get through a counseling path or another path to try to help them kind of address the issues, the underlying issues. You want to see that they're not housed with adults, if they have to be housed, if it's the last resort and have to be housed. Does that mean they should be going to the facilities, juvenile facilities in Hartford? In Bridgeport? Is that an acceptable alternative if it's an extreme case?

Christina Quaranta: Well, those two facilities are actually full, and the judicial branch is looking to find other facilities and places to house those children. So I would say no. They're already full. So I would say kids should not be housed with adults in adult prison, they should be in youth facilities or in the communities being monitored in a different way.

Mike Hydeck: So if rehabilitation is the focus, and it always is supposed to be with any jail, finding the funding, finding programs that work, that have metrics that are saying, look, we put 20 kids through this program, we had a success rate of 80%, or whatever, that's easy for people to get behind when they have those kinds of numbers. How do you get the funding? Where do you find the programs to make that happen here in Connecticut?

Christina Quaranta: That's right. So the funding, we are in interesting space, because we just had our budget passed last year, actually this past June. So there is some funding that was invested in programming for kids, specifically motor vehicle theft issues. I think there's also federal money that's available to invest in programming. And we know what programming works. There's lots of national models and Connecticut even have some of them here, youth advocate programs being one of them.

Mike Hydeck: Where are some of the national models that we looked at, where are they applied? Have they been applied in California or New Jersey or Tennessee? Do we know the states where it actually believe it's working? We can look at data like that.

Christina Quaranta: Yes, in terms of car thefts, right next door in New York and Massachusetts, and even in Connecticut in the past year. So that has been great in having 24/7 wraparound care for kids. And in terms of not having children housed with adults in prison, that's happening in 25 plus states, as close as New York.

Mike Hydeck: So as we know, this is a much bigger thing to try to tackle, right? So, it goes with jobs. It goes with housing, it goes with two parents or after school help with homework. I mean, it really can lead to all of these things. Are you trying to address things on a global perspective like that as well? Is that part of your mission? Or is that just too big of a bite of the apple to try to get done?

Christina Quaranta: Oh, we definitely are. So our campaign #InvestInMeCT is all about investment in kids and families as a whole. So all of those pieces and all the reasons why young people are ensnared in the legal system. So the things you just mentioned, lack of access to housing, jobs, food, education, we're trying to hit all of those social determinants of health areas to make sure their needs are met. Those are the root causes that cause kids to get incarcerated.

Mike Hydeck: Because if you have a mom or dad who's working two jobs and the kid is left home alone after school, no help with homework nothing to do, it actually invites things that could be less than savory.