I’ve been accused of being a broken record on this, put look to Portugal (of all places) for an effective public health policy approach to drugs. Our “war” on them has created catastrophic carnage, including to law enforcement. But perhaps this is more of a federal policy issue than a state one. Regardless, great suggestion, Tom: ask the right questions. Mine is: is drug abuse a health issue or a crime?
I've yet to see convincing data that more incarceration means safer communities - whether that is kids or adults. We've been trying to jail our way out of these problems for years, increasing the number of people incarcerated (both raw and per person, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/MN.html) with seemingly just more incidents resulting.
I appreciate what you say about access to family, better schooling, job training, all as a part of a better solution. However, maybe we don't need to incarcerate young people (or anyone) to provide these services. What may be missing is peer-engagement and restorative justice, but institutionalization does not appear to be giving the results we claim we want. It is possible the desired result is continued institutional racism, in which case the plan for more incarceration is right on target.
All fair points, and thanks for responding. In today’s world, it’s clear that releasing juveniles to dysfunctional homes does not work. And, sadly, that all too commonly is the situation. So the first challenge is where should juveniles be held between arrest and adjudication? Returning violent juveniles to their neighborhoods isn’t working and it’s not appropriate to put them in an adult jail. So a state-of-the-art holding facility - one that continues a juvenile’s education and positive development - seems to me to be a desperately needed option that today is not available. Then there is the issue of how and where to sentence juveniles convicted of violent crimes. Adult prisons are not the right option, but probation isn’t working either. So, are we as a society willing to invest in facilities that offer education, life lessons and mentoring? That seems to me to be the right balance between traditional incarceration that is more punitive than rehabilitative and putting a monitor on the juvenile (now a convicted violent criminal) and an adult-type prison (even one that mainly houses juveniles). And, as noted in the original post, part of reforming public safety must include affordable housing, better schools and other societal changes.
Excellent questions and thoughts, Tom. How do you/we get elected policy and budget setters to engage in this kind of discussion instead of campaigning all the time?
I’ve been accused of being a broken record on this, put look to Portugal (of all places) for an effective public health policy approach to drugs. Our “war” on them has created catastrophic carnage, including to law enforcement. But perhaps this is more of a federal policy issue than a state one. Regardless, great suggestion, Tom: ask the right questions. Mine is: is drug abuse a health issue or a crime?
I've yet to see convincing data that more incarceration means safer communities - whether that is kids or adults. We've been trying to jail our way out of these problems for years, increasing the number of people incarcerated (both raw and per person, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/MN.html) with seemingly just more incidents resulting.
I appreciate what you say about access to family, better schooling, job training, all as a part of a better solution. However, maybe we don't need to incarcerate young people (or anyone) to provide these services. What may be missing is peer-engagement and restorative justice, but institutionalization does not appear to be giving the results we claim we want. It is possible the desired result is continued institutional racism, in which case the plan for more incarceration is right on target.
All fair points, and thanks for responding. In today’s world, it’s clear that releasing juveniles to dysfunctional homes does not work. And, sadly, that all too commonly is the situation. So the first challenge is where should juveniles be held between arrest and adjudication? Returning violent juveniles to their neighborhoods isn’t working and it’s not appropriate to put them in an adult jail. So a state-of-the-art holding facility - one that continues a juvenile’s education and positive development - seems to me to be a desperately needed option that today is not available. Then there is the issue of how and where to sentence juveniles convicted of violent crimes. Adult prisons are not the right option, but probation isn’t working either. So, are we as a society willing to invest in facilities that offer education, life lessons and mentoring? That seems to me to be the right balance between traditional incarceration that is more punitive than rehabilitative and putting a monitor on the juvenile (now a convicted violent criminal) and an adult-type prison (even one that mainly houses juveniles). And, as noted in the original post, part of reforming public safety must include affordable housing, better schools and other societal changes.
Excellent questions and thoughts, Tom. How do you/we get elected policy and budget setters to engage in this kind of discussion instead of campaigning all the time?
Thank you for your very thoughtful perspective.
Great Article, Thanks for sharing.