Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/prominence/top-story/page/35/)
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NEW YORK — Cornelius Fredericks, 16, was sitting at a table eating lunch when he was tackled by a staff member at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Soon after he hit the ground, two other staff members ran over to assist. They started restraining Fredericks for throwing food. The teen remained restrained for 12 minutes. It would be the last minutes of his life.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It was drizzling steadily on June 6 when one of the largest civil rights protests in Jacksonville history began amassing in front of the courthouse. The rain stopped by the time protesters took to the streets, flanked by peacekeepers and organizers with bullhorns leading chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, racist cops have got to go,” “No justice, no peace” and the like. Organizers say up to an estimated 10,000 people marched for racial equality and police reform that day. The crowd skewed young, but all ages were represented; demographics ran the gamut.
In mid-March, everything changed because of COVID-19. One mom said her life changed in 24 hours. Her teenage son had been arraigned for his first offense. He was in detention, though not found guilty, with no option to be heard in court. The schools had closed, daycare closed and the juvenile courts were closed.
The past five months are a window into what several juvenile justice experts say could be next: a long-overdue remodeling of the juvenile justice system that could include reforms in youth detention centers and family courts. Those experts are calling for a smaller juvenile justice system and a shift in the role of probation officers from punishment toward mentorship. Avik Das, director and chief probation officer in Cook County, Illinois’ juvenile justice system, said the youth justice system should be a “last-resort” option for high-risk youth. “I believe my home court, the oldest juvenile court in the nation, is being called on to reinvent itself,” he said. “Otherwise it is at risk of being declared obsolete at best.
UPDATE: The original Instagram video was taken down. The updated video linked below is to a news story of the June 30, 2020, protest. Watch video below
NEW YORK — After a slew of new laws were passed in the last month aimed at reining in aggressive policing tactics, police unions in New York City are now instructing officers to wait for a supervisor or call in a specialized unit if someone is resisting arrest. In a July 1 newsletter sent to NYPD officers, the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) instructed officers to wait, saying that officers' jobs have “changed radically over the past few weeks,” citing new laws. Frustrated by an apparent lack of guidance from the city on how officers should comply, the PBA is now demanding clear legal interpretations of how officers can comply with the new laws.
The Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice convened critically important virtual conferences with juvenile justice leaders and practitioners in late June to start in King County (Seattle) and advance in Hennepin County (Minneapolis) our collaborative partnerships to address youth justice transformation on behalf of the youth and communities in those jurisdictions. Among other positive outcomes, these partnerships will provide excellent opportunities to measurably affect the over-representation of minority children and youth through real policy, practice and systemic change. During the pandemic, we have initiated or continued our dynamic, field-based, system transformation partnerships with 15 additional state or county jurisdictions across the United States and the territory of Guam — and we are making a real difference on behalf of youth, families and their communities. These include: Milwaukee County, Wis.; Cobb County, Ga.; Dutchess County, N.Y.; Clark County, Nev. (Las Vegas); and, Lancaster County, Neb.
NEW YORK — The Surrogate's Court in Lower Manhattan received a fresh coat of paint — albeit an unprompted one, after graffiti, as colorful in its language as it was in its incandescence, was scrawled across the building by anti-police protesters. Nearby, an elevator shaft for the City Hall 4/5/6 train was covered in scraps of cardboard etched with messages memorializing the lives of Black Americans killed by police. Demonstrators had encamped in the area around City Hall for days while inside city officials dealt with one of the most significant political issues of their time — how to effect massive reforms to the nation's largest police department without sacrificing public safety. The solution from city leaders, much to the consternation of some protesters who envisioned a wholesale removal of police altogether, has been to enact a massive shift in funding away from the New York Police Department (NYPD), to the tune of nearly $1 billion, and reinvest it into communities of color. After midnight this morning the City Council voted on a budget that includes deep cuts to NYPD personnel and shifts millions to other city agencies.
As a budget deadline looms for New York today, the city’s Public Advocate said he will hold up the budget if he does not get commitments for massive reforms to how school safety is administered.
America is reckoning with racial injustice. The days of protests in response to George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police — and the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and many others over the last several years — represent a turning point with implications for our entire nation, and especially for all of us involved in the justice system.
4.2 million.
That’s the number of homeless youths in America every year.
This opinion piece is about the 4.2 million, how and why we marginalize them, and what can be done to unmarginalized them.