Prometheus 6

Those laws have not deterred other youths from committing crimes, nor have they rehabilitated the youths sentenced under them, said Robert L. Johnson, dean of the New Jersey Medical School, a member of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, which was assembled by the CDC.

"Not only does it not deter youth crime, it actually makes them more violent," Johnson said. "It may salve our desire to punish. But don't get that confused with rehabilitation. Don't make the mistake of believing that punishment will help anything."

Adult System Worsens Juvenile Recidivism, Report Says
By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 30, 2007; A14

Youths tried as adults and housed in adult prisons commit more crimes, often more violent ones, than minors who remain in the juvenile justice system, a panel of experts appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report.

Longer sentences and the transfer of juvenile offenders to the adult system gained traction in the 1980s and 1990s as youth crime increased. The trend raised fears in statehouses and in Congress about young predators, and laws to push more juvenile offenders into the adult system flourished.

Those laws have not deterred other youths from committing crimes, nor have they rehabilitated the youths sentenced under them, said Robert L. Johnson, dean of the New Jersey Medical School, a member of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, which was assembled by the CDC.

"Not only does it not deter youth crime, it actually makes them more violent," Johnson said. "It may salve our desire to punish. But don't get that confused with rehabilitation. Don't make the mistake of believing that punishment will help anything."

The panel's findings were based on a review of six studies across the nation that examined the effect of juvenile transfers to the adult system. Those studies followed youths for periods ranging from 18 months to six years. One of them found that in Florida, after stronger juvenile justice laws were enacted in 1990 and 1994, youths sent to the adult system had 34 percent more felony rearrest than those retained as juveniles. The youths had equivalent criminal records. The panel of experts examined not only the findings but also the methodology to ensure that offenses were the same.