Table of Contents Title Page Juvenile Justice Policy and Problems, Policies, and
Program Performance in the States NEBRASKA-Portraying Juvenile Crime over Time MASSACHUSETTS- Evaluating Cops and Kids NEW MEXICO-Mixing Juveniles with Adults |
NEW MEXICO-Mixing Juveniles with Adults From
"Violent Juvenile Offenders in New Mexico’ Adult and Juvenile Systems," New
Mexico Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center. Problem Statement The number of referrals to the juvenile justice system in New Mexico in 1994-1996 paralleled the increases that occurred nationally. The Juvenile Justice Division of the Department of Children, Youth and Families in New Mexico experienced a 9.5% increase in referrals in 1994, a 15.6% increase in 1995 (although part of that year’s increase may have been due to better record keeping), and a 5.9% increase in 1996. As juvenile crime rates escalated, and more juveniles were brought into the juvenile justice system, officials struggled to process juvenile referrals and to sanction juvenile offenders with appropriate treatments and punishments. In New Mexico, as in other states, public concern about juvenile crime seemed to be growing. As a higher number of juveniles were charged with serious violent crimes, such as murder and aggravated assault, in the 1980s and 1990s, public pressure for more severe sanctions against these juveniles became more intense. According to the Juvenile Justice Division, in 1996 more than 15% of the offenses referred to the juvenile justice system in New Mexico were offenses against persons, and the vast majority of these offenses were violent. New Mexico citizens experienced growing fear and concern related to these violent juvenile crimes. Forty-nine states, including New Mexico, now have a statutory process for transferring juveniles to the criminal justice system, and many of these statutes have recently been modified to expand the number of transfers. New Mexico employs a two-tier system, involving either automatic remand to criminal court or discretionary sentencing to adult sanctions by the children’s court. New Mexico law defines a "serious youthful offender" as a juvenile aged 15-18 who commits first degree murder; all serious youthful offenders are charged, indicted, and tried in criminal court. New Mexico law defines a "youthful offender" as a juvenile aged 14-18 who is adjudicated for a violent offense, adjudicated for any felony offense and has three prior felony convictions, or a juvenile aged 14 who is adjudicated for first degree murder. Youthful offenders are adjudicated in children’s court, and if the court finds that a youthful offender is not amenable to rehabilitation, an adult sentence is imposed. Youthful offenders who were determined by the court to be amenable to rehabilitation are subject to juvenile sanctions. Juvenile transfer to the adult system involves some important variables that need to be considered, including:
This study addressed all three areas of concern, but most particularly the first and third. Specifically, the study compared the characteristics and experiences of juveniles serving juvenile sanctions and juveniles serving adult sentences. Purposes of Data The data in this study were used to help create a portrait of the two types of offenders being sanctioned differently in the existing system: those receiving juvenile sanctions and those receiving adult sanctions. The study particularly emphasized the comparative experiences of juveniles while under supervision in the juvenile and adult systems because a literature review indicated that little information to date had been gathered on differences in those experiences. The data would allow policymakers to determine whether the shift of juvenile offenders to the adult system had a long-term beneficial impact on crime rates and on later offending by the juveniles. Data Collection For this study the researchers collected information on juveniles who at the time of the study had been adjudicated or convicted for violent offenses and who were currently under supervision in the juvenile or adult systems. Their sample, drawn from lists provided by authorities from juvenile and adult agencies, included 193 juveniles on probation or parole for violent offenses in an urban and a rural county, 211 juveniles in New Mexico’s juvenile confinement facilities, and 86 juveniles under the supervision of the New Mexico Corrections Department (mainly in prison). The researchers developed an 11-page data collection instrument to record general information on each juvenile, prior offending history, the current offense, program participation, and behavior while under supervision. The information was collected from the file pertaining to each juvenile at the corresponding institution. Data collection, done by two research assistants aided by six other assistants from the New Mexico Boys’ School, took four months. Depending on the history and characteristics of the juveniles and the completeness of their files, each case required between 30 and 90 minutes to complete. Data Analysis Based on Purposes of Data The portrait of the juvenile offenders, as drawn from the characteristics of the sample, was as follows: 85.1% of the sample was male, with a mean age at the time of data collection of 17.8 years, and 61.9% of the sample was Hispanic. Only 4.9% of the sample had completed high school or a GED at the time of the most recent adjudication or sentencing. Battery was the most common offense, accounting for more than two-fifths of the total sample. Ten percent of the sample had committed homicides, and 9.2% had committed sexual offenses. Nearly half of the juveniles had committed their current violent offense while under supervision for a prior offense. Of the total sample, 28.2% had no prior recorded offenses. Only 10.7% of the sample had exclusively violent prior offenses. Nonviolent offenses predominated among the prior offenses recorded for the rest of the sample. There was little evidence of sustained participation in violent activities. Juveniles switched back and forth between violent and nonviolent offenses, with no consistent pattern of involvement in either type of offense. Only four juveniles (less than 1% of the sample) could be described as persistently violent; that is, all three of their prior offenses were violent. Similarly, only 22 juveniles (5%) had committed two violent offenses prior to their current offense. The most common type of prior supervision was juvenile probation. Less than 1% of the sample had had a prior supervision in the adult system. Subsequent supervision was usually of the same type as that experienced previously. Thus, juvenile probation tended mainly to be followed by juvenile probation. However, in some cases, periods of confinement in juvenile facilities were followed, as a subsequent disposition, by periods on probation. Status at adjudication or sentencing was as follows: 73.7% delinquent offender, 8.8% youthful offender with a juvenile disposition, 11.7% youthful offender with an adult disposition, and 5.7% serious youthful offender. Sentences in the adult system were considerably longer than periods of supervision in the juvenile system. For example, the modal prison sentence was six years, compared to the modal sentence of two years in juvenile confinement facilities. A comparison of youthful offenders assigned to juvenile sanctions or sentenced as adults showed that:
Education was the most frequent type of program in which juveniles participated while under supervision, followed by counseling. One-third of the sample was not currently enrolled in any program. Juveniles in juvenile facilities had significantly higher overall program participation than other juveniles. Juveniles in the adult system had slightly less program participation than juveniles on probation. Juveniles in juvenile facilities also were least likely to have been dropped or suspended from a program, while juveniles in the adult system were most likely to have been dropped or suspended. Of juveniles in the adult system, 82.6% had participated in work programs, compared to 31.2% of juveniles on probation and 17.4% of juveniles in juvenile confinement. Of juveniles in juvenile confinement or on probation, 58.7% and 51.6%, respectively, were currently enrolled in an educational program, compared to only 33.7% of juveniles in the adult system. Vocational programs were infrequently undertaken by juveniles in this sample; most of the juveniles who were involved in such programs were confined in the adult system. Of juveniles in juvenile facilities, 83.9% had participated in substance abuse programs, compared to 30.1% of juveniles on probation and only 4.7% of juveniles in the adult system. A high percentage, 88.5%, of juveniles in juvenile confinement had participated in a counseling program, compared to 59.1% of juveniles on probation and 17.4% of juveniles in the adult system. The mean number of disciplinary reports filed during the current supervision was as follows: 1.9 for those on juvenile probation; 7.8 for those in juvenile confinement; and 14.4 for those juveniles confined in the adult system. These differences may in part reflect different levels of monitoring and different lengths of time under supervision. Reports filed for assaults and fighting were the most common for juveniles in confinement. The most frequent disciplinary problem among juveniles in the adult system or on probation was refusal to obey an order. Overall, 22.7% of the sample had committed at least one new criminal offense while under current supervision. Concerning victimization while under current supervision, 15% of the sample reported at least one victimization. The prevalence of victimization for each type of supervision was as follows: juvenile probation 2.7%, juvenile confinement 16.5%, and adult system 37.2%. Again, these differences may in part reflect different levels of monitoring and different lengths of time under supervision. The prevalence of reported victimizations was significantly greater among juveniles who also had disciplinary problems. Physical assault was the most common type of victimization among juveniles in juvenile confinement, while threats were the most frequent type of victimization among juveniles in the adult system. Recommendations The researchers made no specific recommendations beyond the impressions left by their accumulated data. When the researchers examined the characteristics and delinquent histories of youthful offenders, they could identify few variables that distinguished juveniles sentenced as adults and juveniles disposed as youthful offenders. Moreover, none of the variables that arguably predicted the potential for future serious delinquency, such as the total number of arrests and referrals, the total number of times on probation or in confinement, and the type of current offense, were associated with the decision to assign a juvenile sanction or an adult sentence. The researchers concluded that persistent violence was only evident among a handful of youths, in contrast to public perceptions of persistent violence as being more widespread. In addition, there appeared to be no clear criteria applied by New Mexico’s juvenile court judges in deciding whether to retain their remand in the adult system. Therefore, it was not clear that juveniles in the adult system, either as youthful or serious youthful offenders, differed in meaningful ways from juveniles retained in the juvenile system. The researchers also determined that, overall, the comparative experiences of the juveniles in the sample reflected the nature of each of the systems to which they were assigned. Prisons offered lower and less varied levels of programming than juvenile facilities and represented potentially more threatening environments. The emphasis in the prison system was clearly on confinement, control, and punishment, whereas juvenile facilities devoted much more time and resources to individual needs. While juveniles in the adult system may not have differed greatly or significantly in terms of their patterns of offending from juveniles in the juvenile system, the system to which they were subjected was markedly different and presumably of considerable consequence for their postconfinement lives. Real and Potential Applications of Data The data generated by the New Mexico researchers corresponded well with the available academic literature on the differences in sentences, treatment, and impact among juvenile offenders sentenced to juvenile or adult justice systems. Their depiction of the vagaries of the juvenile transfer system will provide policymakers with a more accurate assessment of what was happening in the state and of the arbitrary nature of the justice being dispensed. Should policymakers decide to increase the equity in sentencing in New Mexico, the data provided here will demonstrate the lack of consistency in the current system.
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