Help, Too, for ‘Bad’ Youths

Despite a broad decline in the U.S. crime rate, murders by juveniles have tripled over the past decade and sparked a host of get-tough state and federal proposals. In Washington, the House has voted to allow more teenagers to be prosecuted and imprisoned as adults. And last month in Sacramento, Gov. Pete Wilson and Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante suggested that capital punishment be considered for some killers as young as 14. Certainly this goes too far, though for some incorrigibles harsh punishment, including life sentences, might be warranted.

But growing numbers of law enforcement officials, conservative and liberal, have come to agree that throwing more youngsters into prisons won’t increase public safety. They point, for example, to a California study that showed the recidivism rate among juvenile offenders climbed to 58.4% from 44.5% over 10 years, while the state incarceration rate rose to double the national average.

What do show promise are “early intervention” programs that spot signs of juvenile delinquency like chronic truancy and try to prevent them from escalating to violent behavior through what UCLA Prof. James Q. Wilson calls “early and certain sanctions.” These include supervised work programs that offer counseling and moral guidance.

Public faith in punitive measures also seems to be waning. A recent survey by the California Wellness Foundation shows that 77% of voters polled believe that Sacramento should put its dollars behind youth crime prevention instead of more prisons.

To change the approach, California state legislators are considering a handful of bills, the sort that Washington appears to be ignoring. One authored by Sens. Dede Alpert (D-Coronado) and Quentin L. Kopp (I-San Francisco) and supported by Gov. Wilson, SB 1050, would create “youth referral centers.” These informal courts would put teenagers into rehabilitation programs before petty crimes escalated into the full-blown violence that now jams juvenile courts. The rub is that the state does not have enough rehab programs.

Two other state bills, SB 1108 and SB 1259, would address this problem by earmarking $65 million for counties and communities that expand or create promising programs for juveniles. Funding like this could be especially productive in Los Angeles County, which faces the state’s sharpest rise in gang membership--from 30,000 in 1982 to 150,000 in 1996, and a projected 250,000 by 2000. But county officials will have to put forward better solutions than they have, state authorities say. Sacramento recently rejected an L.A. County request for more juvenile rehabilitation funds, calling the proposal hastily drawn.

Planners should look for proven rehabilitation techniques and programs, expanding ones that work in their regions and adopting ideas like youth referral centers that have significantly reduced youth crime rates elsewhere. Strike while the will and funding are there.