Jackspatagonia guide jacket liners1onville children are in detention longer than Florida law intends
Duval County Juvenile Court Judge David Gooding held a hearing Thursday Aug. 7, 2014 in the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, FL and decided to place the boy in his grandmother s home until a non secure facility can be found for him. The boy s mother, Crystal Allen (from left) and lawyer, Donald Wright lispatagonia guide jacket liners2ten to Judge Gooding while the boy hangs his head down. The Duval Regional Juvenile Detention Center has been working to make the facility more friendly for the youths that have been sent there by making the experience less institutional and trying to create a more welcoming environment during their time in the facility. (The Florida Times Union/Bob Self)
Hundreds of juveniles accused of crimes in the Jacksonville area in recent patagonia better sweater damenyears have been locked up in detenpatagonia guide jacket liners0tion for longer than Florida law intends and longer than children in any othepatagonia better sweater naturalr part of the state, a Times Union investigation has found.
And some of the children are serving patagonia insulated better sweater hoody ukthese unofficial jail sentences in a facility filled over capacity more often and with more reported fights than any other center in Florida without ever being formally charged with a crime.
Many of the juveniles, responding to an oft heard refrain from prosecutors that they may be charged as adults, waive their rights to be released in hopes they can avoid potentially steep prison sentences.
It s a trend advocates and defense lawyers say is troubling in the Jacksonville area circuit, which leads the state in lengthy detention stays despite having only the sepatagonia guide jacket liners3venth largest juvenile population.
Detention is not supposed to be where juveniles serve their sentences; it s the place children accused of crimes are kept while they await formal charges, plea deal negotiations or transfers to longer term facilities to begin their actual sentences.
It was never intended to be a place where juveniles sat for weeks or months beyond the legal limit while the state figured out what to do with them.
But that is patagonia outlet store in montanawhat s happening in the Jacksonville area.
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State law restricts most detention stays to 21 days; juveniles accused of some serious crimes can be detainedpatagonia hiking budget for up to 30 days. But a Times Union review of 11 years of data found that, in recent years, the Jacksonville area leads the state in the number of stays beyond 21, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days. The state s data doesn t distinguish between how much of that time was before cases were resolved or while juveniles waited for transfers to longer patagonia men's better sweater hoodyterm commitment facilities.
Some children suffering from mental health issues languish in the detention facility as officials try to find placement for appropriate therapy, there is simply no other place to put them or their parents are scared to have them at home.
Because of these lengthy stays, Florida taxpayers shell out more money per stay to detain children in the Jacksonville area than in any other large circuit in the state.
In addition to the Jacksonville detention facility having the highest number of reported fights and capacity issues, the facility also led Florida in the number of reports of youth receiving the wrong medication from staff.
Long lockups delay therapy for children, are counterproductive to the state s goal of rehabilitation and don t make communities safer in the long term because detention isn t a therapeutic program, advocates and lawyers told the Times Union. The National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the federal government generally recommend juveniles should spend no more than 20 days in detention until they are sentenced.
Every day in detention traumatizpatagonia discount code perotes, said Danielle Lipow, an expert in juvenile detention with the Annie E. Casey Foundation who has worked in Florida and with officials in 13 other states. It increases the separation of a kid from their community, from their family. It disrupts education. It s crime school. It says to a kid, You are a prisoner and we will get around to you when we get around to you.
Of the 1,878 juvenile detention stays that occurred in the Jacksonville area last year, 26 percent were for longer than state law allows for most youth, the Times Union found.
And 160 of those stays were for 50 days or longer.
Contrast that with Broward County, where there were 2,884 stays 1,000 more than in Jacksonville just 27 of which were for 50 days or longer.
Fourth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Matt Shirk s office and defense lawyers told the Times Union many of their clients are threatened with adult charges and have to waive their rights to the 21 day limit to avoid adult court. The 4th Circuit consists of Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
Officials in State Attorney Angela Corey s office said they don t patagonia guide jacket lapeltpatagonia guide jacket linershreaten juveniles but rather are earnestly reviewing serious cases to determine whether adult charges are appropriate for the juvenile and the safety of the community.
There s no bail for juveniles in Florida and that waiver allows judges sometimes with prosecutors saying they don t want children released and other times with defense attorneys saying they need more time to keep young people in detention indefinitpatagonia guide pants lessely.
No matter the reason, for some juveniles, the 21 day waiver can be the equivalent of sacrificing their due process rights.
And for those children who eventually take plea deals, whatever weeks or months are spent in detention do not count toward their sentences.
Department of Juvenile Justice Interim Secretary Christy Daly and her top staff use words like short term and crisis intervention to describe the intent of Florida s juvenile detention program.
