By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Local law enforcement officials say they see positives and pitfalls in proposed legislation that would keep more teenagers out of the adult court system.
For many crimes, the proposal would raise from 16 to 18 the age at which teenagers can be charged as adults. Juvenile offenders accused of serious felonies would still be tried as adults.
Salisbury Police Chief Rory Collins and Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten said they see some benefits in the legislation, but they still have concerns.
National trend
Since 1919, North Carolina has considered anyone above 16 an adult in the criminal justice system.
If enacted, the bill would bring the state more in line with the rest of the nation. Currently, only North Carolina and New York recognize 16-year-olds as adults in criminal proceedings.
Some states’ criminal justice systems start with 17-year-olds, but most recognize 18 as adulthood.
In 2009, the General Assembly created the bipartisan Youth Accountability Planning Task Force to study whether the state should raise the age to 18. That panel, on which Rowan County Chief District Court Judge Charlie Brown served as the only judge among the appointees, recommended raising the age.
A bipartisan coalition, including former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, successfully urged legislators last June to keep the “Raise the Age” bill in play so it could be taken up in this year’s short session.
District Court Judge Beth Dixon, who presides over juvenile delinquency court in Rowan County, told the Post in 2011 she is in favor of the bill, citing the impact of felonies on future job opportunities for youths charged as adults.
Juvenile offenders’ records are not public.
Opponents cite cost
But the bill also has opponents, many of whom say they don’t know how the change could be funded.
Auten said Tuesday he thought the project was “cost prohibitive.”
New housing will have to be built, he said, or younger offenders will be negatively influenced by the older teenagers placed into their programs.
He also called the age interpretation “confusing.”
Auten said some misdemeanors don’t belong in juvenile court. He cited assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury as an example.
“It creates some confusion. If you get this charge you’d go to this court, but if it’s serious enough you’d go to this court. I think it’s too wishy washy,” Auten said.
The N.C. Sheriff’s Association has opposed the bill for years and sent out an updated position paper to agencies across the state earlier this month. It highlighted reasons for opposition.
“The state’s present juvenile justice system cannot handle an influx of 16- and 17-year-olds unless the state spends hundreds of millions of dollars to provide new facilities and programs,” the letter states.
Increased workload
The bill calls for spending $9 million in 2016, the first year the new law would be in effect. It would call for increased amounts in subsequent years.
Auten estimated about 30,000 teens in North Carolina would have been in juvenile court last year instead of adult court if the proposal had been law.
The increased workload, Auten said, wouldn’t be sustainable for the already overwhelmed juvenile services department.
“I just don’t think the state has the facilities available,” he said.
Auten conceded there are benefits to the age change, including the ability for young offenders to have second chances.
But to him, they don’t outweigh the concerns.
“As it stands, I don’t agree with it,” he said. “If there are some tweaks, I’d be more willing to accept it.”
Collins also said he has “mixed feelings” about the bill, but he acknowledged the court system can provide “various types of help” necessary for troubled youths, including court-ordered programs and court counselors.
There are too many offenders, though, Collins said, for the current system.
“In order for such a thing to work right, it’s going to require a tremendous workload on the juvenile services,” Collins said. “I do not believe the juvenile justice system is adequately staffed or financially prepared to handle the amount of workload that they would see.”
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For more information about the Youth Accountability Planning Task Force, go to http://www.juvjus.state.nc.us/taskForce.html
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.