August
2002
Leadership
Trenton: Criminal Justice and Corrections
By
Pamela Sims Jones
A
look at criminal justice and corrections in New Jersey
The
fifth Leadership Trenton (LT) seminar on June 20 was a combined
session with Leadership New Jersey (LNJ) Fellows focusing on Criminal
Justice and Corrections. We began at Thomas Edison State College
with an overview from Jon Shure, the Leadership New Jersey Seminar
Director, and a discussion on trends and issues in the New Jersey
criminal justice and corrections' systems.
The
morning panelists were Bruce Stout, Executive Director of the
Violence Institute of N.J. and formerly Executive Director of
the Juvenile Justice Commission in the N.J. Dept. of Law and Public
Safety; Brigete Mitchel Morton of the N.J. Juvenile Justice Commission;
Marcus Green of the Division of Criminal Justice; James B. Golden,
Jr., former Trenton Police Director; Leah McGarry Morris of the
N.J. Office of the Public Defender; Andre Thomas, Operations Manager
at Isles' Youthbuild Program; and Michelle McGlue of the N.J.
Juvenile Justice Commission.
During
lunch, we were joined by Youthbuild participants who, as former
juvenile offenders, are now participating in various programs
to adjust, rebuild and progress. They shared their views about
the criminal justice system and the programs offered at Youthbuild,
which provides housing, drug counseling, job opportunities, and
daily group meetings. After lunch, the fellows joined their assigned
teams and visited the following sites: the Mercer County Youth
Detention Center, the Mercer County Juvenile Court, the Trenton
Municipal Police Dept., the Trenton Municipal Court, Bo Robinson
House, the N.J. State Parole Board, and the N.J. State Police.
Following
these site visits was a group visit to the New Jersey State Prison.
Devon Brown, Commissioner of the N.J. Dept. of Corrections, and
Donald Mae, Assistant Superintendent of the N.J. State Prison,
addressed LNJ and the LT fellows, as did some staff members before
our tour of the facility.
After
the tour, we had an informative and insightful discussion with
a select group of inmates and then we left the building; the inmates
did not-that's when you realize (or should realize) that the choices
we make in life determine our paths. The entire day created feelings
of apprehension, reflection, sympathy, empathy, anger, sadness,
and hope.
Bruce
Stout said that in New Jersey there are "over 28,000 people
incarcerated, which contributes no more than a 2% in reduction
in crime, costing $40,000 a year per inmate with an annual budget
approaching one billion dollars." The re-arrest rates in
New Jersey are high, exceeding eighty percent. With no significant
investment in prevention, high recidivism rates of released inmates,
and an overburdened system, what is the cohesive "connect"
or direction of all of these criminal justice systems and the
psyche and/or culture that embodies these systems?
It
does not take a degree in law or behavioral science to understand
that the way an offender is treated, prosecuted, and defended
will determine, in most cases, his/her future. Therefore, there
needs to be a revamping throughout the systems. Marcus Green stressed
that a revision of how prosecutors are trained is needed. Ms.
Morris stated that "prison does not solve addiction"
and many of the panelists cited the fact that there is a need
for a cogent policy that allows addicts to receive treatment.
Both Mr. Golden and Stout agreed that the drug courts and school-zone
law need to be readdressed.
Lionel
Henderson, Superintendent of the Mercer County Youth Detention
Center, which can house 83 offenders and is a fully accredited
school with juvenile court on site, said that the recidivism rate
at the Center is 66 percent. The average length of stay is 27
days and most of the residents are between the ages of 13 and
19; seventy to eighty percent of the populace is from Trenton
and ten to fifteen percent from Hamilton. Superintendent Henderson
and his staff can control what happens within their facility,
but once released, the offender returns to a neighborhood and
"street norm" that is hard to change, thus the high
recidivism rate.
A
U.S. Justice Department study released in June showed that a likely
reason for the increase in recidivism is that "state governments,
to save money and to be seen as tough on crime, cut back on rehabilitation
programs, like drug treatment, vocational education and classes
to prepare prisoners for life at home."
As
pertains to New Jersey, added to the problems are questions and
pending legislation about racial profiling, and the possible increase
in prison construction. Building more prisons is not a panacea,
but rehabilitative, humane, and common-sense reforms within the
criminal justice and corrections' systems are steps in the right
direction.
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Special
thanks to all of the agencies and their staff who contributed
to the success of our June seminar.
Pamela
Sims Jones is the acting director of the Dept. of State's MLK,
Jr. Commemorative Commission
