03/26/1997 01:50 PM Senate JUD

          SB  63 DEADLY WEAPON OFFENSES BY JUVENILES                          
                                                                              
  SENATOR DONLEY , sponsor of the measure, stated legislation similar          
 to SB 63 passed the Senate during the last legislative session but            
 died in the House Finance Committee in the last days of the                   
 session.   If SB 63 passes,  a person between the ages of 16 and 18           
 would automatically go to adult court for a second offense                    
 involving assault with a deadly weapon.  Senator Donley estimated             
 five or six juveniles would fall in this category per year.                   
                                                                               
 Number 469                                                                    
                                                                               
  ROBERT BUTTCANE , a juvenile probation officer supervisor based in           
 Anchorage, testified DHSS is opposed to SB 63 as drafted because it           
 lowers the automatic waiver to include class B and C felony                   
 offenses.  DHSS does not believe SB 63 creates an appropriate                 
 response for these types of crimes.  It is likely that a person who           
 commits this type of an offense for a second time would be                    
 institutionalized in a youth corrections facility and in that                 
 environment would undergo a variety of treatment programs to                  
 address and correct those behaviors.  DHSS believes the dual                  
 sentencing approach, established in HB 97, is a better response to            
 young repeat offenders as opposed to a waiver into the adult                  
 system.                                                                       
                                                                               
  SENATOR MILLER  said Mr. Buttcane is admitting the current system            
 does not work if a youth offender is out committing offenses for a            
 second time.                                                                  
                                                                               
  SENATOR PEARCE  asked Mr. Buttcane if he knew whether anyone has             
 been charged in the drive-by shooting incident at the McLaughlin              
 Youth facility.   MR. BUTTCANE  said an investigation is underway,            
 but did not know whether any formal charges have been filed.                  
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN TAYLOR  noted SB 63 has been narrowly crafted to only               
 impact a juvenile who was previously adjudicated for a similar                
 offense.  He asked what percentage of youth offenders who violate             
 this law actually have their cases go through adjudication.   MR.             
 BUTTCANE  did not have those statistics available, but estimated              
 offenses against persons that are petitioned before the court total           
 69 percent; the other 31 percent might include cases where a 13               
 year old became involved in a domestic violence dispute with an               
 alcoholic mother, and used a metal pipe or other instrument that is           
 classified as a dangerous weapon.                                             
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN TAYLOR  asked, of the 69 percent that result in a petition          
 being filed, what portion end up with a formal adjudication.   MR.            
 BUTTCANE  guessed approximately 90 percent, but some of those cases           
 end in probation.                                                             
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN TAYLOR  commented he served as standing master for six              
 years and only remembers a handful of formal adjudications.                   
 Frequently the probation officer would work with the family and               
 offender and the outcome would be a dismissal based on corrective             
 activities taking place, similar to an SIS on the criminal side.              
 He said any of those offenders that received such treatment would             
 not fall within SB 63 because it requires the offender to have                
 already been adjudicated once.   MR. BUTTCANE  replied the response           
 Senator Taylor described is fairly common for property offenses,              
 but is not as common for cases involving physical injury.                     
                                                                               
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  SENATOR PEARCE  asked what charges were filed against the six                
 juveniles referred to in Senator Donley's sponsor statement.                  
  SENATOR   DONLEY  replied he reviewed a record of assaults with deadl        
 weapons that showed the number of repeat offenders and the crimes             
 that were repeated that involved deadly weapons but the individual            
 case studies were not available.   MR. BUTTCANE  said he would                
 identify those cases to determine the original offenses and provide           
 that information to the committee at a later date.                            
                                                                               
  SENATOR PEARCE  commented she asked because she has compassion for           
 a young person, or anyone, in an abusive situation, and is aware              
 crimes are committed in those situations that society sometimes               
 views differently.  She said the fact that only 6 people would have           
 fallen under this category in 1995, despite a 200 percent increase            
 in juvenile crime between 1990 and 1994, tells us this bill would             
 not apply to a large pool of people.  She suggested investigating             
 the six cases to determine whether those juveniles are from abusive           
 situations however she cautioned we have to remember that people              
 are often charged for a lesser offense than the offense committed.            
                                                                               
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  SENATOR MILLER  stated if the second offense is not dealt with               
 adequately, the third offense might result in a death.   MR.                  
 BUTTCANE  replied he appreciated Senator Miller's comment, and                
 agreed that in some cases it does not matter what treatment is                
 provided, some minors simply grow old but do not grow up.  He                 
 noted, however, in the vast majority of youth cases, those kids get           
 their lives together and need to be given an opportunity to change            
 and grow.  He repeated DHSS believes an automatic waiver into adult           
 court for these cases is not the preferred option.                            
 TAPE 97-24, SIDE B                                                            
                                                                               
  MARGOT KNUTH , Assistant Attorney General, representing the                  
 Governor's Cabinet on Youth and Justice, clarified the                        
 Administration's position on SB 63.  The repeat offenders that SB
 focusses on do not need to be coddled.  The first thing                    
 identified by the Conference on Youth and Justice is that a small             
 group of youth offenders are at risk of becoming serious, chronic             
 offenders, and the state needs to be in their faces every step of             
 the way.  The offenders being discussed comprise that group which             
 consists of repeat class B or C felony offenders.  Given that                 
 traditional methods of dealing with these offenders have not proven           
 effective, 40 states, as well as Alaska, have looked to automatic             
 waiver as the solution.  The Conference on Youth and Justice spent            
 nine months examining that approach and takes issue with it.                  
 Instead of automatic waivers for these juveniles, the Conference is           
 proposing a dual sentencing scheme in which the offender receives             
 both a juvenile sentence and an adult sentence as if automatic                
 waiver occurred.  This approach creates more interaction between              
 the state and the offender and allows for closer surveillance of              
 the offender.  Dual sentences also place the responsibility on the            
 offender to comply with the juvenile sentence in order to stay out            
 of an adult institution.  It is an escape valve for the offender              
 who can and/or wants to be rehabilitated.  If those offenders do              
 not comply with court orders for treatment, commit another offense,           
 do not pay restitution, or whatever, the adult sentence is imposed.           
                                                                               
  MS. KNUTH  commented the Coalition for Juvenile Justice recently             
 published an annual report that examined the transformations                  
 occurring in the juvenile system, and discusses the popularity of             
 the automatic waiver approach.  She read the following excerpt from           
 that report:                                                                  
 "The consequences of this trend toward greater adult handling of              
 juvenile offenders have been varied.  There is generally a greater            
 need for court and prosecutorial resources because of higher                  
 demands, especially since the more punitive results may result in             
 fewer guilty pleas and more demands for jury trials.  Juveniles               
 transferred to, and tried in adult court, usually serve a                     
 significantly longer period of time in pretrial detention awaiting            
 a trial date and with more educational and other resource demands             
 on the facility.  Although the results of studies are mixed,                  
 juveniles tried in adult court may receive more probation and                 
 shorter sentences than in juvenile court, especially for offenses             
 other than homicide, rape, and robbery.  Juveniles tried as adults            
 also frequently have higher recidivism rates, offend earlier after            
 release, and commit more serious offenses."                                   
                                                                               
 Ms. Knuth noted the three measures of the effectiveness of any                
 criminal justice system are: the recidivism rate, how soon                    
 reoffenses occur; and whether more serious offenses are committed.            
 She stated the automatic waiver approach is showing some flaws.               
 Consequently, some experts are now recommending dual sentences                
 because they are more tailored, keep the offender invested in their           
 own conduct, provide an escape valve for those who are salvageable,           
 and eliminate the need to repeat proceedings for those who do not             
 comply.                                                                       
                                                                               
  SENATOR MILLER  moved SB 63 from committee with individual                   
 recommendations.  There being no objection, the motion carried.               
                                                                               
  SENATOR DONLEY  commented the fact that adult sentencing criteria            
 will be used for some repeat offenders will deter juveniles from              
 reoffending.