CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Florida jailing fewer kids for minor crimes. Orange, Osceola lag behind the trend, study says

Orlando Sentinel - 12/31/2019

Dec. 31--Orange and Osceola counties are lagging behind a statewide trend of fewer children being jailed in Florida for first-time misdemeanor crimes like school fights, shoplifting or underage drinking, a new study says.

The fifth annual report from the Caruthers Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in St. Petersburg, finds agencies in the Ninth Judicial Circuit are still struggling to reduce arrests for "common youth misbehavior," almost two years after former Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Frederick Lauten held a summit on the issue.

Since 2014, more than 5,000 children eligible for diversion programs have been arrested in both counties, including more than 700 in the last fiscal year, according to the study.

"The data shows the summit accomplished virtually nothing, while the issue of arresting young children has [risen] and goes unaddressed," said Dewey Caruthers, the study's author and president of the institute.

But law enforcement agencies say the study does not take into account local rules that require them to make arrests in certain cases, including offenses related to domestic violence or gang activity.

"You would have to look at the type of arrest and the narrative for each arrest to determine what the factors were that would have led deputies to arrest," Orange County sheriff's spokeswoman Michelle Guido said in an email. "As an example: If a juvenile is caught vandalizing a wall (graffiti) that could be eligible for a [juvenile civil citation]. If, however, that vandalism is gang-related, that would likely exclude the possibility of a [citation]. ... There are many possibilities -- and without looking at each of those reports, we can't determine what the circumstances were."

Gloria Pickar, co-president for the League of Women Voters of Orange County, said in a statement that progress has been made, but there is "certainly more to do." The Orange County league is a chapter of the League of Women Voters of Florida, which was one of the study's sponsors.

"We have not given up," Pickar said. "We can safely reduce the needless arrests of youth in the Ninth Circuit and assure our children have access to services at all levels. Civil citations and other alternatives to arrest save tax dollars and prevent long-term damage to the future of our children."

Arrests rebound in Orange

Using data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, the study focused on juvenile civil citations, an alternative to arrest that helps offenders 17 and younger avoid incarceration and a criminal record when they commit low-level misdemeanors such as vandalism, petty theft, loitering, trespassing, and marijuana or alcohol possession.

To be eligible, the accused must not have been previously arrested and must agree to do community service, a risk assessment, counseling, restitution or other sanctions. Felony offenses and other serious misdemeanors, as well as habitual offenders, are not considered.

Overall, Florida's rate of arresting juveniles for misdemeanor crimes has steadily declined, from 57% in fiscal year 2014-15 to 38% in 2018-19. Civil citations were issued to 10,139 children in the last year, while 6,190 were arrested, according to the study.

Orange's arrest rate for low-level youth offenders dropped from 83% in fiscal year 2014-15 to a low of 44% in 2017-18 -- but by 2018-19, it climbed back to 55%, the study said. Out of 869 kids who could have avoided jail time, fewer than half -- 391 first-time offenders -- were issued an alternative to arrest last year, while the remaining 478 were incarcerated, according to state data.

In the same time period, Osceola's juvenile arrest dipped from 79% in 2014-15 to 66% in 2018-19. During the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, most children who were eligible for civil citations or other alternatives were arrested, with 261 out of 394 jailed.

By contrast, larger counties like Miami-Dade and Broward had arrest rates of 9% and 27% in the last fiscal year, respectively. Pinellas County, which is similar in population size to Orange, had the lowest arrest rate for first-time youth offenders in Florida at 3%. Police and deputies there arrested only 27 juveniles, while 839 were given civil citations or other alternatives, the study said.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, which only arrested eight juveniles in the last fiscal year, attributes the low rate to proactive civil citation policies and the discretion exercised by deputies.

"We've had a very high participation rate," said Deputy Travis J. Sibley, a spokesman for the agency. "It's resulted in a very low recidivism rate. ... The Sheriff's office is obviously ecstatic of the result."

Orange-Osceola Public Defender Robert Wesley noted Orange pays more than any other county in the state for bed space in juvenile detention centers. Orange will pay $4.82 million to the state in 2019-20 to jail youth offenders, according to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

"That's what upsets me," Wesley said. "Somehow people prefer kids being arrested and traumatized by that and be incarcerated than working on keeping families together."

Children who are arrested can be stigmatized by their teachers and peers and miss out on future opportunities because of their criminal record, Caruthers said. Juveniles issued citations are less likely to re-offend and avoid the school-to-prison pipeline, he added.

Data from the state's juvenile justice department shows the recidivism rate for juvenile civil citations has dropped to as low as 4%, compared to the recidivism for post-arrest diversion that has been as high as 12%, according to the study.

It also saves taxpayers money -- Florida is estimated to have saved between $70 million and $221 million in the past five years by giving youth offenders citations instead of detaining and prosecuting them, according to the study.

"There just isn't any data to show routinely arresting kids for this kind of behavior is a good idea," Caruthers said. "Taxpayers lose. Kids lose. It's just arresting kids on a routine basis is a losing proposition for all those involved."

Policies differ by county, agency

The report highlighted the Orange and Osceola sheriff's offices as arresting more first-time juvenile offenders in 2018-19 than almost any other agencies in the state. Orange came in second with 297 arrests, behind the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 340 arrests, while Osceola came in sixth, with 152 arrests.

The majority of arrests for those two agencies were for assault or battery, with most juvenile offenders being teenagers, according to state data.

But younger children were arrested for minor crimes as well. The Orange Sheriff's Office arrested 19 juveniles who were 12 years old and three kids 11 or under, while the Osceola Sheriff's Office jailed three 12-year-olds and eight children 11 or under, the study said.

The Orlando Police Department attracted national attention in September after one of its officers handcuffed two 6-year-old children at their school. OPD issued civil citations to 73 eligible juveniles in 2018-19, and jailed 81 kids, including five 12-year-olds and one child 11 or under, according to data from the state's juvenile justice department.

"It's shocking these two counties are arresting very young children for misdemeanors that in previous days were not handled as criminal," Caruthers said.

But Guido, the Sheriff's Office spokeswoman, says the study doesn't consider local exclusions that can lead to arrests.

State law requires criminal justice stakeholders in each of Florida's 20 judicial circuits to figure out which misdemeanor offenses qualify for diversion programs and other eligibility criteria. The state's juvenile justice department doesn't compile every circuit's local requirements, agency spokeswoman Molly Best said.

Juveniles can't get civil citations from the Orange Sheriff's Office for a number of reasons, including: Failing or refusing to provide proper identification; refusing to sign the citation or provide an index fingerprint; exhibiting violent behavior; or if the juvenile is currently participating in another citation program, according to agency policy.

Misdemeanors that don't qualify include those involving use of a weapon; exposure of sexual organs or other sexual offenses like prostitution or lascivious behavior; offenses related to gang activity; animal cruelty; domestic violence, dating violence, stalking or similar offenses; and operating a car or boat under the influence.

Out of the 297 kids arrested by Orange Sheriff's deputies in 2018-19, 136 cases, about 45%, involved domestic violence, according to state data.

OPD's exclusions are similar but also include criminal traffic offenses and instances in which officers believe children may harm themselves or others, the agency's policy said.

Other communities have different exclusions.

In Miami-Dade, the only excluded offenses are misdemeanors involving weapons, exposure of sexual organs and other sexual-related behavior, or gang activity. Hillsborough excludes assaults on officials, domestic violence battery, DUIs, racing and injunction violations.

The Pinellas Sheriff's Office doesn't list specific excluded offenses in its policy but encourages deputies to "use discretion and diversionary programs" as alternatives to juvenile arrests and consider several factors before giving children civil citations, including their age, contact with the juvenile justice system, the nature and severity of charges and the degree of parental control.

Neither OPD nor the Osceola Sheriff's Office responded to a request for comment on the study. Since the arrest of two 6-year-olds, OPD has updated its policy to mandate officers get approval from one of the department's four deputy chiefs before arresting kids under 12.

Caruthers acknowledged the study "purposefully" doesn't take into account local restrictions on juvenile civil citations

"Just because the policy is 'local' doesn't make it effective," he said. "The most effective local policy is our study recommendation that arrests be used only in rare and exceptional circumstances, which is reflected in Pinellas County's performance. ... In my expert opinion the [Orange County Sheriff's Office] policies emphasize arrests, not prearrest diversions."

In his report, Caruthers argued the fact that different counties and agencies use diversion programs differently creates "unequal justice by geography."

"This means two youth committing the exact same offense but in two separate counties could be treated dramatically different with one being arrested and one receiving a juvenile civil citation," he wrote.

Lauten, who is now retired, said in an interview last week that, during the summit he held on juvenile arrests in early 2018, police were hesitant to issue juvenile citations for domestic violence, school bullying and gang activity. Current Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Donald Myers did not respond to a request for comment.

"I do think that it is important that all of the interested parties continue to engage in conversation about this," Lauten said. "I think it helped when we got everybody together to talk about mutual concerns."

mcordeiro@orlandosentinel,.com or 407-420-5774

___

(c)2019 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.