Washington Insight

GANG PROBLEM: The good news? Federal agents are going to be spending more time on gangs and other juvenile crimes. This presumably means more apprehensions of juveniles. The bad news? The feds have no facilities for housing juvenile criminals. . . . Now comes one possible Justice Department solution--federal early-intervention programs, such as boot camps for first-time offenders. Another possibility is converting existing institutions into federally run facilities for juvenile criminals. . . . The planning occurs against a backdrop of repeated attempts by the Bush and Ronald Reagan Administrations to eliminate funding for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a program considered untouchable by Congress. The office has spent federal funds to help states establish their own programs for juvenile violators, including separating them from hardened adult criminals. But the Administration contends it is time for states to pick up the full cost of maintaining such programs themselves.