House Republicans: Juvenile Justice Reform

On Tuesday morning, I joined several of my colleagues in the House Republican Caucus as we once again are calling for action in response to the increase in juvenile crimes in our state. During our regular session, there was some discussion on the House floor about addressing the problem; but ultimately there was no action taken. In the months since, it feels like there is very little accountability for juvenile offenders particularly when it comes to motor vehicle break-ins and thefts. One of these actions caused an innocent person to lose their life and there was another instance of a car being stolen with a minor child inside of it. This is unacceptable and we have to do better changing with the times, there is no simple fix but one thing we can all agree on is that this isn’t going to fix itself. The safety of the public is top priority.

The House Republicans have come up with steps that can be taken to begin the first steps in addressing the problem. The plan identifies crime prevention resources that will be made available to all of Connecticut’s communities and specific adjustments that can help to strengthen the abilities of judges and law enforcement officers to address this crisis effectively.

These proposed reforms include:

• Implementing victim impact panels and juvenile delinquency hearings;
• Electronic monitoring for juveniles arrested while awaiting trial on previous offenses;
• Expedited arraignment for felonies, a sex assault, offense involving use of a firearm;
• Court-ordered Family Support Services intervention at juvenile court arraignments;
• Expanding circumstances in which a matter is automatically transferred to regular criminal docket;
• Creating a new offense of “larceny of a motor vehicle” not tied to the value of the vehicle.

To learn more, please visit- www.cthousegop.com/stopcarthefts