California Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon decide on a sweeping plan to curtail the use of probation supervision, a new bill of rights for youth in juvenile detention and limits on how police can interrogate minors.
The key pieces of juvenile justice legislation are headed to the governor’s desk, following the Wednesday deadline for California lawmakers to finalize hundreds of bills at the end of this year’s legislative session. The state’s Democratic governor has about a month to veto or to sign the bills into law.
Among the most far-reaching of the juvenile justice bills is Assembly Bill 503, which would limit probation supervision terms to six months, unless local officials provide evidence that an extension is in the best interest of the child. Last August, the bill was tabled at the 11th hour. But it has a new chance this year. It would also better tailor rehabilitative services to individual youth, and eliminate onerous and confusing conditions that can lead to more time under the microscope of probation officers.
“The idea that keeping kids on long periods of probation supervision makes us safer isn’t true,” said AB 503 proponent Dafna Gozani, a senior policy attorney with the National Center For Youth Law. “It can create irrevocable damage. We really need to consider what we’re doing when we’re involving ourselves in young people’s lives.”
The bill is opposed by a long list of probation agencies and law enforcement groups, who have criticized the six-month term as “arbitrary.”
Another bill headed to the governor would ban the use of “psychologically manipulative interrogation tactics” by law enforcement officers during interrogations of young people under age 18. Youth are at greater risk of wrongful convictions because of these deceptive techniques, Assemblymember Chris Holden (D) said during hearings for Assembly Bill 2644. That bill would prohibit police practices such as misrepresenting the strength of the evidence against a suspect.
As California moves ahead with the closure of its youth prison system, Assembly Bill 2417 would enshrine protections for young people held in county-run juvenile detention facilities, such as the right to medical care and education. Under the legislation, the state’s Office of Youth and Community Restoration would be responsible for distributing a bill of rights for detained youth and investigating violations.
Assembly Bill 2658 would offer new protections for young people placed on electronic monitoring devices. While tools like ankle monitors are frequently used to record the location or movement of youth living at home under probation supervision, the legislation would prohibit use of such devices to eavesdrop or to record conversations. Under the proposed law, delinquency court judges would hold hearings to determine if electronic monitoring devices were needed for longer than 30 days. Judges would also have to consider whether other less restrictive options were available to achieve the young person’s rehabilitative goals.
Finally, California has seen a dramatic drop in the number of minors prosecuted in adult court over the past 15 years. While the number inched up last year, transferring young people to adult court could be more difficult if Assembly Bill 2361 passes. Currently, young people must meet certain criteria to be sent out of the juvenile justice system, such as a high level of criminal sophistication and previous history with delinquency courts. The bill would include additional requirements, such as a finding that a “minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.”