Juvenile crime in Connecticut and factors impacting youth crime. As a parent, what’s the best approach after you hear your teenager has been arrested. Is posting their bail the best option?
As juvenile crime runs rampant throughout Connecticut, legal officials from around the state have recognized it as an increasingly large issue. Earlier in June, five juveniles were arrested for several attempted car thefts and two car crashes on a Sunday afternoon. Five teens, aged 15 to 18, attempted to enter multiple cars in Glastonbury between 1:30 and 3:30 in the afternoon. After successfully stealing a car from Tolland, the five teens caused two car crashes, then proceeded to call a Lyft driver and stole that car as well in the parking lot of Glastonbury High School.
The five teens were arrested a few hours later, and the three 18-year-olds involved received bonds ranging between $125,000 and $130,000. Police noted that juvenile crimes such as these are not done for any particular reason; they are mostly committed for the fun and thrill of it, as shown through juveniles who are now committing crimes in broad daylight. Although this was an unforeseen increase, the factors causing it are clear to many juvenile justice advocates in the Constitution State.
Part of the solution, according to advocates, may be the understanding of factors contributing to the spike. Other residents, take it to social media stating “juvenile offenders accused of committing crimes may start with a misdemeanor, but in the next encounter with police, these juveniles may be charged with something more serious to the point in which it feels more like a catch and release program.”
Factors Largely Impacting Juvenile Crime
Along with the pandemic, there are many reasons why juvenile crime has become such a big issue throughout the state of Connecticut. The Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance is an organization whose goal is to end the criminalization of youth. By amplifying youth voices and youth justice advocates, the organization hopes to end youth imprisonment and reform a system that has failed to serve children in the rehabilitation process.
Justice advisors from CTJJA found through community conversations that communities impacted by criminalization and systematic injustices usually fall into one of these seven categories.
- Economic insecurity
- Housing insecurity
- Trauma within Communities
- Lack of Trust in a System that Displays Abuses of Authority
- A Need for More Positive Influences and Credible Messengers
- Lack of Hope
- Need for Equal Opportunities
To decrease juvenile crime throughout Connecticut, youth justice advocates find that significant changes to juvenile legislation and legal responsibility need to be made. Recently, Connecticut has passed many reforms to the juvenile justice system, the new set of laws that are set to go into effect on October 1st, 2021 hold a few bills addressing juvenile justice, advocated by the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee.
The biggest of these is that children younger than the age of 10 cannot be arrested, with others including charging the Department of Children and Families to create an oversight plan for educational improvements for incarcerated children. But many find that these changes are not enough, as juvenile crime keeps increasing everywhere throughout the state.
CJJA has listed ten changes, titled the “10 Calls to Action”, that are necessary for decreasing youth crime, ranging from investing more into community programs, activities, and resources, to holding law enforcement and those in positions of power accountable for their actions if abuses of power are displayed.
Advocates for juvenile justice hope that if these changes are implemented in the legal system, systematic changes for juvenile crime and youth impacted by criminalization can see a brighter future with positive and long-lasting effects in Connecticut.
What to Do if your Teenager has Been Arrested, Accused of a Crime
When a teenager is arrested in Connecticut, they will most likely be taken to the local juvenile detention center like the one in Hartford located at 920 Broad St. After their arraignment and bail is not posted, they may be sent to the Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire, Connecticut. This detention center is a level 4 high-security facility that houses male inmates under the age of 21. The facility focuses on rehabilitation and providing inmates with education and resources to enforce social skills, ethics, and positive attitudes and behaviors to be successful in society.
Female juveniles arrested will be sent to the York Correctional Institution in Niantic, which provides similar programs aimed at young women on how to lead a successful life in the future. There are many services for mental health and addiction, as well as mentoring programs for the increasing youth population at the institution, offering a positive and educational environment for youth inmates
Juveniles are treated differently under the law than those who are over the age of 18. These differences are important to know if your juvenile is arrested. Those under the age of 18 can be bailed out of jail, but guardians who are bailing them out will need to provide the defendant’s birth certificate. Juvenile names are also withheld from the public after an arrest for the privacy of the young defendant.
Other common questions that parents and guardians have about juveniles who are arrested typically range from education to healthcare services to visiting hours. Many answers to these questions can be found on the Connecticut Judicial Branch’s website, where legal officials directly answer common questions that guardians have about juvenile arrestees.
The most critical step if your teenager is ever arrested and is held on bond, is to contact a trusted bail bonds company, like 3-D Bail Bonds. This Connecticut agency is experienced in the field of bail and can get your child out of jail at an affordable price and safely. Juveniles can be bailed out of jail, just like any other adult in the legal system. Learn more about the bail bond process and why it’s important to handle it with a bondsman.
3-D Bail Bonds offers resources for juveniles and their loved ones to learn more about the bail process for young defendants. Our professional bail bondsmen will help guide you on the path that will help your defendant in the best way possible. Contact us at (860) 247-2245; we will be here for you and your child throughout this difficult and confusing process.
