Legislature(1997 - 1998)
02/07/1997 01:08 PM House JUD
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
February 7, 1997
1:08 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Joe Green, Chairman
Representative Con Bunde, Vice Chairman
Representative Brian Porter
Representative Norm Rokeberg
Representative Jeannette James
Representative Ethan Berkowitz
Representative Eric Croft
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members were present
OTHER HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Pete Kott
Representative Pete Kelly
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
* HOUSE BILL NO. 3
"An Act relating to disclosures of information about certain
minors."
- HEARD AND HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 6
"An Act amending laws relating to the disclosure of information
relating to certain minors."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
(* First public hearing)
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 3
SHORT TITLE: DISCLOSURES RE FELONY ARRESTS OF MINORS
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) KOTT, Kelly
JRN-DATE JRN-PG ACTION
01/13/97 27 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/3/97
01/13/97 27 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
01/13/97 28 (H) JUDICIARY
02/07/97 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
WITNESS REGISTER
GARRY GILLIAM, Detective/Sergeant
Juvenile Crime Unit
Anchorage Police Department
4501 South Bragaw Street
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
Telephone: (907) 786-8500
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 3.
LAURA ROREM
9151 Parkwood Drive
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 789-1647
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 3.
ROBIN LOWN, Vice President
Alaska Peace Officer's Association
P.O. Box 33885
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 364-3365
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 3.
MARGOT KNUTH, Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
P.O. Box 110300
Juneau, Alaska 99811
Telephone: (907) 465-4338
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided testimony on HB 3.
BARBARA BRINK, Acting Director
Public Defender Agency
Department of Administration
900 West 5th Avenue, Suite 200
Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5984
Telephone: (907) 563-6106
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided testimony on HB 3.
Angela Salerno, Executive Director
National Association of Social Workers
525 Main Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 586-4438
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HB 3.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 97-10, SIDE A
Number 001
The House Judiciary Standing Committee was called to order by
Chairman Joe Green at 1:08 p.m. Members present at the call to
order were Representatives Con Bunde, Brian Porter, Eric Croft,
Ethan Berkowitz and Chairman Joe Green.
HB 3 - DISCLOSURES RE FELONY ARRESTS OF MINORS
CHAIRMAN JOE GREEN announced the committee would hear House Bill
No. 3, "An Act relating to disclosures of information about certain
minors." He invited Representative Pete Kott, prime sponsor, to
provide comments to the committee.
Representatives Jeannette James and Norman Rokeberg arrived.
Number 187
REPRESENTATIVE PETE KOTT, prime sponsor of HB 3, advised members it
had passed the legislature the previous session as HB 104; however,
it was vetoed by the Governor. The reason for his veto was that he
wanted to wait for the recommendations of the Juvenile Justice
Commission's Task Force.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT pointed out that the proposed legislation would
allow public safety agencies the ability to release certain types
of information regarding minors who had committed an offense that
would be considered a felony offense if committed by an adult. It
was perceived that release the information to the public would act
as a deterrent to minors who might commit those crimes.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT advised members that a proposed committee
substitute had been prepared for member's consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE CON BUNDE moved to adopt CSHB 3. Representative
Eric Croft objected.
REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CROFT asked for an explanation of the
differences in the HES committee substitute and the new proposed
committee substitute.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT explained that Section 2 of the new committee
substitute addressed AS 47.12.320. He stated that it would allow
parents to disclose certain information to certain people for
review or use in their official capacities. Representative Kott
advised members that the proposed committee substitute would also
provide that information disclosed to victims could be redisclosed
to insurance companies as might be necessary for civil litigation
or insurance claims purposes.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT pointed out that the new committee substitute
would also provide that anyone who received information, pursuant
to Section 2, may not redisclose that information to others not
entitled to that information.
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT asked if the bill would allow the evidence of
the arrest of the juvenile to be used in civil litigation.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT answered that it would, adding that if someone
was arrested for a crime and the victim receives the information,
the victim could provide the information to his or her insurance
company. He pointed out that existing law provides that state or
municipal law enforcement agencies may disclose to the public and
also may disclose to the victim, information including copies of
reports, as necessary, for civil litigation or insurance claims
pursued by or against the victim.
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT noted that convictions could always be used in
a civil trial and asked if the intent of the proposed committee
substitute was to allow the use of an arrest as part of the
victim's civil case.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT explained that it was his understanding that
juvenile delinquency records were sealed, which would prohibit the
victim from making claims against the perpetrator.
Number 605
REPRESENTATIVE ETHAN BERKOWITZ felt there was a discrepancy between
paragraphs one and two on page 2. He noted that it appeared to
extend fewer rights to the family of a minor subject, than to a
victim, and that the parent would not be entitled to provide
information to an insurance company.
REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN PORTER stated that paragraph one addressed
parents or legal guardians that are not necessarily victims. He
explained that that language was from several years ago because of
problems parents were having when they had a dispute with the
agency that controlled the information and the inability to discuss
the problem with their legislator, or anyone else.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ stated that it appeared as though the
victim was entitled to use the information as both a sword and a
shield, and the parent was not able to use the information as a
shield and felt the language provided a disparity of rights.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER felt that a victim, parent or legal guardian
could be added under paragraph two which would alleviate
Representative Berkowitz concern.
Number 1111
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT advised members his initial concerns had been
addressed and he was willing to withdraw his objection in order
that the committee have a working document before them. There
being no further objection, CSHB 3 was adopted.
REPRESENTATIVE CON BUNDE stated with respect to the language of an
agency "may" release information, and asked if it would provide a
substantial amount of latitude from one jurisdiction to another,
and if one agency did not release information and someone else was
victimized if the state would somehow be liable because of the
failure to release the information.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT agreed that the operative word was "may", and
some discretion had been built into the bill that would afford
those agencies the opportunity not to release information.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE was concerned that the various jurisdictions
could operate completely different than others and provide the
possibility of unequal treatment.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT stated that currently the agencies could
disclose information to the public regarding a case as might be
necessary to protect the safety of the public. He noted that the
proposed committee substitute provides clear direction that the
information could be disclosed upon arrest and the agency would not
be caught in the dilemma of determining whether or not the public
was endangered.
REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE JAMES was also concerned that the
information could be disclosed upon arrest as opposed to a
conviction.
Number 1415
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT asked how HB 3 and HB 6 were interrelated. It
was his understanding that the bills provided two different
approaches to the same problem, and both were limited by the
concern of losing federal funds to the Division of Family and Youth
Services (DFYS).
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT explained that the intent of HB 3 was to
provide the information to the public prior to it being submitted
to DFYS. He noted that once the information is provided to DFYS,
it becomes much more privileged and confidential and could not be
released.
REPRESENTATIVE NORMAN ROKEBERG advised members that a survey had
been conducted in his district asking the question of whether a
juvenile's names should be made public at the point they commit a
crime. Of the 582 responses, 439 responded yes, and 193 responded
no, and he felt the people of the state supported the concept of
the bill.
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT pointed out that the recommendations put forth
by the task force were very similar to the proposed legislation and
he felt the bill could prevent a juvenile from going from the high
chair to the electric chair.
GARRY GILLIAM, Detective/Sergeant, Anchorage Police Department,
Juvenile Crime Unit advised members the Anchorage Police Department
was in support of the concept put forth in HB 3. The mission of
the Juvenile Crime Unit was to provide investigative services aimed
at controlling juvenile related crimes through identification and
apprehension of juvenile suspects in recovering stolen property and
assisting with criminal prosecution of defendants charged with
assault, burglary, theft and drug related crimes. Sergeant Gilliam
advised members the unit also had the additional responsibility of
working with the school districts for the purpose of student
counseling, intervention programs and criminal investigation and
prosecution of juvenile offenders.
SERGEANT GILLIAM explained that some of the crimes investigated in
1995 included violent crimes, property crimes, drug offenses and
other miscellaneous offenses. He noted that there had been
approximately 3700 charges against juvenile offenders and of those
offenses 149 involved weapons, approximately 200 drug offenses, 10
arsons, over 400 assaults, over 50 robberies, 23 sexual assaults
and 4 charged with either murder, manslaughter or conspiracy to
commit murder.
SERGEANT GILLIAM advised members that HB 3 would assist the
Anchorage Police Department in its function of public safety by
providing the opportunity to disclose information to school
officials on suspects that had been arrested.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE asked Sergeant Gilliam to address the term
"may" disclose, and the possibility of unequal treatment by the
various jurisdictions within the state.
SERGEANT GILLIAM advised members that the only information they
would release would be a probable cause arrest that indicated that
the individual was responsible for the crime, and if there was a
reason to protect the school district or the public safety. The
Anchorage Police Department was comfortable with the use of the
term "may" versus "shall".
CHAIRMAN GREEN asked Sergeant Gilliam to address the language on
page 1, line 11, and asked if that would mean may have committed
prior to being adjudicated.
SERGEANT GILLIAM read that to mean that there was a probable cause
arrest at the time the juvenile was detained.
Number 1833
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked if the police department generally
had information regarding a juvenile's arrest history.
SERGEANT GILLIAM advised members that some information was
difficult to retrieve regarding juvenile arrest histories. He
pointed out that juveniles were adjudicated as delinquent rather
than convicted, and that information was sealed and inaccessible.
Number 1950
LAURA ROREM, speaking on her own behalf, advised members that she
was the parent of two adopted children, now ages 21 and 24, who had
both suffered from brain disorders since birth. She pointed out
that she was also a member of the Alaska Mental Health Board.
MS. ROREM explained that neurobiological disorders, such as mental
illness and organic brain disorders, such as fetal alcohol syndrome
were diseases that affect behavior, thought processes, mood,
judgement, reason and the ability to make a decision. She noted
that those illness were not caused by a bad environment, abuse or
neglect, adding that those diseases were grossly misunderstood and
treatment was sporadic, difficult to access and blame-oriented.
MS. ROREM advised members that in seeking help for her children,
they, as parents, were repeatedly told a crime would have to be
committed prior to receiving help. Ms. Rorem stated that at age
15, one of the boys was arrested for felony assault and when they
approached the Johnson Youth Center, the authorities blamed the
parents for his behavior and resulting arrest.
MS. ROREM stated that publishing the parents' names and the name of
the child would not have served as a deterrent in their case, nor
would it have brought appropriate intervention or treatment. Ms.
Rorem explained that there was a universal fear among parents of
children with brain disorders that the prison system and court
system would become the treatment their child receives, rather than
appropriate treatment and intervention.
Number 2242
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT asked what effect the proposed legislation
would have on the willingness of people to become foster parents if
disclosure of the parent's names was allowed.
MS. ROREM felt it would be very scary for either foster parents or
adoptive parents because they would be looked upon as being bad
parents.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER pointed out that the bill provided the
opportunity, rather than the requirement, for a police department
to make certain information public. He asked Ms. Rorem if she felt
the Juneau Police Department would make public information directly
related to her situation. Ms. Rorem felt it would depend on who
the arresting officer was.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER's response was that he did not feel the
arresting officer would have that option, that it would be a policy
dictated by the Chief of Police.
MS. ROREM felt the information could be released by the officer.
TAPE 97-10, SIDE B
Number 000
ROBIN LOWN, Vice President, Alaska Peace Officer's Association,
advised members that based on the Association's review of HB 3,
they were in support of the proposed legislation. It was felt that
minors who committed offenses that would be felonies if committed
by an adult should not be afforded disclosure protection. Mr. Lown
noted that the original bill, HB 3, proposes that disclosure be
made upon the arrest of a juvenile and it was his suggestion that
the language also include "charged" with a crime. He explained
that often times there are juveniles that the police department
know committed an offense; however, they were unable to locate the
individual. Mr. Lown stated that they could charge the juvenile
without having him or her in actual custody and that it would be to
the public's benefit to be able to release that information.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked if it would be correct to say that
the decision to charge an individual with a felony or a misdemeanor
would fall beyond the arresting officer's purview.
MR. LOWN responded that usually when a felony charge was levied,
the prosecuting authorities would be contacted in advance and they
give the permission to charge a felony crime. He noted that it was
generally not the case where the officer, on the street, would make
that decision.
REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked whether the Department of Law should
be involved as to whether an individual's name should be released.
MR. LOWN advised members that the department would be doing that by
the fact of reviewing a case prior to it being charged, or an
arrest was made. He expressed that the district attorney's office
would be contacted and advised of the circumstances and the
probable cause, and they would decide what to charge the individual
with.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE posed the question to Mr. Lown regarding how
the various jurisdictions would respond to the release of
information.
MR. LOWN felt each jurisdiction would react somewhat differently to
the disclosure of information; however, his personal opinion was
that if a juvenile committed a felony that his name should be made
public.
Number 790
MARGOT KNUTH, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law, spoke
on behalf of the Governor's Children's Cabinet which consisted of
the Commissioner of Public Safety, Attorney General Commissioner of
Health and Social Services, Commissioner of Community and Regional
Affairs and the Commissioner of the Department of Education.
She noted that all commissioners had been concerned with the
problem of juvenile crime and what the state could do to turn the
situation around.
MS. KNUTH pointed out that Governor Knowles appointed his
Conference on Youth and Justice the previous year with
Representatives Porter and Kelly being active members of that
conference. She explained that it was specifically designed to be
a bipartisan undertaking to propose constructive solutions for
individuals, communities and the state on how to address juvenile
crime.
MS. KNUTH advised members that HB 3 was the same as last year's
legislation, HB 104, which Governor Knowles vetoed because of his
concern that the disclosure was from the moment of charge, rather
than sometime later in the proceedings. She pointed out that when
the bill was vetoed, Governor Knowles indicated that while he did
believe it was appropriate to disclose certain types of information
about juveniles who commit crimes he felt the proposed approach was
flawed. At that time he indicated his intent to appoint a
Conference on Youth and Justice.
MS. KNUTH advised members that the Conference on Youth and Justice
did arrive at a proposal which was currently embodied in the
Governor's bill, HB 97. She expressed that HB 97 would provide for
disclosure of information from the moment a petition for
adjudication of delinquency was filed with the court. Ms. Knuth
pointed out that there were more cases of mistaken identity with
youths in arrest situations than with adults.
MS. KNUTH advised members that most arrests, in felony cases, were
made before an attorney had an opportunity to review the
circumstances. She noted that by using the language "when a
petition is filed" the bill would provide an extra level of
assurance that the change was, indeed, appropriate.
MS. KNUTH advised members that the position of the administration
was that the public had a right to know when juveniles had
committed serious and violent offenses and pose a risk to the
public. She noted that the term "felony" was a broad brush that
included offenses that did not present the same type of danger that
other felony offenses did. Of particular concern were crimes of
violence and crimes against persons. The Governor's proposal,
along with the Conference's recommendation to the Governor, was
that the public should be allowed access to information regarding
felony crimes a youth commits against a person from the moment a
petition is filed.
MS. KNUTH pointed out that children are able to change much more
rapidly than adults. She felt that was the main reason that extra
protection is afforded children in the criminal system. Ms. Knuth
stated that one of the main factors a parole board considers when
contemplating release of an offender on discretionary parole was
the age of the individual when they committed the offense. She
advised members that a great number of the state's juvenile
offenders who are referred to Health and Social Services, go on to
become law abiding citizens of tomorrow. Ms. Knuth noted that she
was concerned that one could actually be promoting "high chair to
the electric chair" if inappropriate public disclosure should take
place.
MS. KNUTH felt one necessary component of a successful formula
would be to provide for appropriate intervention at the local level
in particular. She noted that one of the most exciting
recommendations that came out of the Governor's Conference was that
the state should enable local communities to respond to the lower
level juvenile offenses. Ms. Knuth advised members that in the
communities they visited throughout the state, there was the
recognition that Health and Social Services was not doing what
needed to be done with the troubled youth in the state. This was
because their resources were quite restricted because of a
decreasing budget. As a result, department expends their energies
into the most serious offenses, which comes down to putting the
most work into the fewest number of cases.
MS. KNUTH advised members that the Conference recommended that
communities be given the ability to respond to the low level
offenders, and the communities responded enthusiastically to that
concept. Ms. Knuth noted that the vehicle of choice in Anchorage
was to come up with a hearing officer system, whereby, in exchange
for not going through Health and Social Services formal delinquency
proceedings, the child would agree to have the case heard before
the hearing officer. That process would not result in a criminal
record, although a record would be provided Health and Social
Services, but would result in restitution to the victim and
restoration to damaged property, et cetera. She felt that process
would provide a good deterrent. Ms. Knuth pointed out that the
smaller communities wanted to use a community court system where
the elders of the community would be the authority figures who
would require an accounting.
MS. KNUTH advised members that the Children's Cabinet and the
administration did not have an issue with the portions of the bill
relating to disclosures to insurance companies. However, they did
feel the discretionary law enforcement disclosure to the public
needed more fine tuning.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER advised members that to his knowledge, the
district attorney's policy in Anchorage was if an apprehension were
anticipated in an investigation, that a discussion on the elements
that existed and the appropriateness of the charge would occur
prior to the apprehension. He noted that the only circumstance
that they would allow would be that an arrest had been made and a
crime in progress when the arrest was necessary for the immediate
confiscation of evidence that would otherwise be lost.
Representative Porter asked if that practice had changed.
MS. KNUTH expected that an arrest was handled differently in
different areas of the state. She pointed out that in Juneau the
only occasions on which the district attorney's office would review
a felony case and say, go ahead and make an arrest, was if it had
been an ongoing investigation.
Number 1955
REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE JAMES expressed that over the past few
years teachers had testified before the committee regarding the
ability to identify children who seem to have a potential for
mental or behavior problems. She asked Ms. Knuth if she was aware
of any solution to early intervention in those types of cases.
MS. KNUTH felt that the focus was finally becoming that of early
intervention through community involvement and various programs.
She advised members that it had been unsuccessful to wait until the
state had probable cause to file a petition for delinquency on
those juveniles. Ms. Knuth pointed out that one of the more
exciting recommendations, that did not require legislation, was the
creation of what is called Community Justice Action Teams. These
groups would include police, prosecuting authorities, educators,
social workers and concerned citizens to specifically target kids
who were at risk of becoming serious chronic offenders. The team
would observe those juveniles and attempt to dispel the sense of
skating.
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES stated that she was concerned with the safety
of the public and their right to know of a potential danger. She
questioned the means of authorizing disclosures for those cases
that needed to be disclosed without using extreme discretion, and
if there was language that would be binding enough to withstand a
challenge.
MS. KNUTH advised members that the recommendation of the Governor's
Conference was to have disclosure take place when a petition was
filed for felonies that were crimes against a person. Ms. Knuth
stated that the problem with that recommendation was that petitions
were not filed in most cases, adding that approximately 75 percent
of those cases were adjusted prior to a petition being filed. She
noted that within the 75 percent group, there would be some serious
offenders, or at risk of becoming serious offenders.
TAPE 97-11, SIDE A
Number 000
MS. KNUTH pointed out the need to have more disclosures to schools
and especially to teachers. She felt that was an area that could
be tailored to say, "the department (DHSS) shall disclose;" and
that would include disclosure to the principal and the teacher in
the classroom of a child's particular behavior. Another proposal
was to make sure that the law enforcement agencies had as much
information about juveniles as possible. Ms. Knuth advised members
that one of the items they expect to see in the capital budget was
funds that would provide for computer hardware to link Health and
Social Services juvenile computer records with law enforcement
agencies' computer systems.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE asked what types of felonies Ms. Knuth felt
should not be included in the disclosure process.
MS. KNUTH suggested that Class C drug felonies not be included
because the possession of any quantity of marijuana found on the
school grounds was an automatic felony. She pointed out that often
times that was an isolated incident and one in which the Department
of Health and Social Services had had a great deal of success in
working with the child and the family. Ms. Knuth stated that one
of the concerns the department had expressed with making those
juvenile records public, was how it would affect the child's chance
of employment when they get out of school. Ms. Knuth stated that
criminal mischief and theft offenses were felonies at the $500
level, noting that in this day and age, a broken window would cost
that or more, and those were crimes that would not put a person's
well-being at risk.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE posed the question as to how the different
jurisdictions would apply the law.
MS. KNUTH stated that it was a legitimate concern that each law
enforcement agency would interpret the law differently. She felt
there would be departments that chose to have no disclosure, and
departments that would choose to have disclosure in all instances.
Ms. Knuth added that some departments would decide that all parents
should be named, with another deciding never to disclose the
parent's names. Ms. Knuth pointed out that there had been no
studies conducted in the United States that reveal the results of
public disclosure.
CHAIRMAN GREEN announced that HB 6 would be brought before the
committee on Monday, February 10th, because of the lack of time to
address it during this meeting.
BARBARA BRINK, Acting Director, Public Defender Agency, Department
of Administration, agreed with most of the testimony provided by
Ms. Knuth. She felt the proposed legislation could induce some
unintended consequences through the release of information to the
general public. Ms. Brink urged the committee to consider not
releasing information at the time of arrest, or even at the point
of filing a petition. She expressed that if the child and his or
her family were allowed to be stigmatized by providing information
to the public, in general, would damage that family prior to
knowing if the juvenile committed a crime. Ms. Brink noted that
innocent people did get arrested and innocent people were often
forced to go to trial and it would not be until the case was
acquitted that the truth is made known. Ms. Brink also referenced
the adverse psychologic effect a false disclosure could have on the
child and his/her family.
MS. BRINK pointed out that Alaska's juvenile crime rate was rated
37th in the nation, i.e., lower than most states in the United
States. However, she expressed that Alaska was rated second in the
nation in locking juveniles up and the length of time they are
locked up. Ms. Brink noted that a study conducted on the
McLaughlin Youth Center and the programs provided there resulted in
a 50 percent success rate, which was unusually high nation-wide.
MS. BRINK stated that the reason the bill was initially filed was
because of a problem with the Division of Family and Youth Services
jeopardizing millions of dollars in federal funds because juvenile
delinquents and children in need of aid were both handled within
the one division. She pointed out that if there was a disclosure
at the agency level, it would have jeopardized those federal funds
and the proposal was a means of not putting those federal funds at
risk. Ms. Knuth advised members that the department was moving
forward with plans to further subdivide the children in need of aid
cases from the juvenile delinquent cases.
ANGELA SALERNO, Executive Director, National Association of Social
Workers, agreed with most of the testimony provided by Ms. Knuth
and Ms. Brink. She expressed that the juvenile justice system, as
known presently, was the result of reform. Ms. Salerno stated that
during the last century, prior to having a juvenile court,
juveniles had been treated as if they were adults when they
committed crimes. She pointed out that the American public
decided, at that time, that it was unacceptable and inappropriate
to treat children as adults. The realization came about that those
children were being lost when they could very well have been
rehabilitated.
MS. SALERNO pointed out that the state presently had a very good
system in place which provided for intervention, treatment,
punishment and accountability, adding that Alaska was very tough on
juvenile criminals. She reiterated that Alaska was number two in
the nation for locking up kids, and also number two in the nation
for the length of time those kids are kept in detention.
MS. SALERNO stated that because of the confidentiality afforded
kids in the state, she felt there was a misperception in the
community that nothing happens when juveniles offend. She
expressed that the state had very strict and swift consequences in
the state, adding that juvenile waiver existed in the state now
where those juveniles who had committed serious crimes were
automatically treated as adults. Ms. Salerno advised members that
many juvenile cases had been waived to adult courts in the state of
Alaska.
MS. SALERNO did not disagree that there was a need for public
safety; however, her concern was how effective the disclosures
would be and what the public would do with the information once
they received it. She felt the proposed legislation would create
a greater fear in the community and almost ensures that the
families facing the crisis in question, already struggling on the
brink, could be pushed a little closer to real disintegration.
MS. SALERNO advised members that she had searched for data relating
to the concept of the proposed legislation and was not able to find
any. She expressed that it was a new idea with no data to back it
up and felt it was being done in desperation.
MS. SALERNO pointed out that the National Association of Social
Workers was in support of prevention, and asked that members
consider the issue dispassionately and attempt to decide it on its
merits.
Number 1765
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES expressed her understanding of Ms. Salerno's
passion on the issue; however, she stated that her analogy to the
whole situation with children was that it was kind of like
parenting. She pointed out that the public was concerned about the
issue and was seeking a solution which meant it was necessary to do
something. Representative James asked if Ms. Salerno had any
suggestions on how the legislature should address the issue.
MS. SALERNO agreed that danger did conceivably exist and it was the
people's right to know for public safety reasons. However, she did
not feel the community was presently equipped to deal with the
issue in a constructive and productive manner. Ms. Salerno
expressed her belief in the ability of all people to change and
grow.
Number 2130
ADJOURNMENT
CHAIRMAN JOE GREEN adjourned the House Judiciary Committee meeting
at 3:25 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|