Juvenile offenders may be released sooner

Historic City News has learned through an interim report released yesterday by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee that, in a measure to reduce costs of operation, the Department of Juvenile Justice may begin releasing youthful offenders a week early, on average.

If lawmakers are willing to change the law to give the agency the ability to release kids who have completed requirements of their program, without first getting approval from a judge, the agency could make even bigger reductions in the average length of stay.

A change of this type reportedly could save the state more than $4.6 million and reduce beds by 120.

Advocates of such changes, including the group Florida Taxwatch, published earlier reports claiming Florida keeps juvenile offenders locked up longer than other states with no corresponding benefit.

Inside the agency there appears to be general agreement that the length of stay for many juveniles should be reduced.

“The Department of Juvenile Justice supports recommendations to modify the length of stay; especially based upon current research indicating that longer stays in juvenile facilities do not appear to reduce offending,” the report said. “For low-risk offenders, institutional placement increases recidivism.”

According to news reports following the committee, while the Department of Juvenile Justice is proposing that lawmakers remove the requirement that a judge sign off on the department’s release of juveniles who have completed their program, the committee staff didn’t make any recommendations to lawmakers on the question.