Governor Rick Snyder has signed a law that encourages judges to send younger offenders into alternatives to jail and programs that put them into contact with adults who commit crimes.
The new law represents a re-thinking of juvenile justice policies in place since the 1990s that have treated young offenders as adults.
“Reinventing Michigan’s criminal justice system is critically important, and this bill helps our judicial leaders assess penalties for juvenile offenders in a way that will hopefully lead to better long-term rehabilitation outcomes for our young people,” Snyder said in a press release.
The goal is to expand services already available to help young offenders turn around their lives and clear their records.
Kristen Staley with the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency says teens with criminal records have a tougher time succeeding later in life.
“It makes it harder to get a job when you get older. It makes it harder to apply for colleges, or for certain types of housing,” she said. “If we can catch the at-risk behavior early, if we can divert them out of the system. That’s the ultimate goal because we really don’t want them to be in the court system.”
Staley also said teens sent to adult programs are more likely to re-offend than teens who are sent to a diversionary program.
Staley says the next step is to extend that sort of help to 18-year-olds who are charged with crimes.
