Claiming that crime is escalating in Connecticut, state Senate Republicans Wednesday proposed making it easier to move some young people accused of breaking the law from juvenile court to adult court.
Underage defendants face more serious penalties if their cases are transferred to adult court. Republicans want more crimes to qualify for automatic transfers, including cases involving serious repeat juvenile offenders.
Under current law, some of the most serious charges against young people are automatically sent to adult court. GOP lawmakers want to alter the standards used by judges to determine if young people accused of carrying out other crimes should have their cases sent to adult court.
“We need to make sure that a juvenile that commits a horrible crime can get moved into the adult court,” said John Kissel, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Senate Republican.
Kissel says that under current law, young people accused of crimes like stalking or car theft might not be automatically transferred.
“If someone goes into your yard, your home, your garage, and steals something, probably the second biggest asset a person has other than their home, your sense of security in your own home has now been undermined,” Kissel said.
Democratic Sen. Gary Winfield, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, says state’s attorneys already have the option of asking a judge to send juvenile cases to adult court.
“I’m just unconvinced that putting juveniles into the adult system makes a lot of sense,” Winfield said.
He disputed Republican claims that young people will get better services in adult court.
The proposal is part of a package of state Senate Republican law enforcement plans.
The GOP lawmakers want to undo some of the police reforms approved last year in response to the death of George Floyd. The Republicans want to alter part of the law dealing with qualified immunity for police officers.
They also want young people accused of a crime to go before a judge more quickly and to be held in custody longer when authorities seek a detention order.
Republican senators stressed the importance of rehabilitative services for young people. They said they won’t throw money at law enforcement.
Many of the Republican ideas face an uncertain future in the General Assembly given that Democrats have a majority in both chambers.