Impact Article

Juvenile Crime Affects Everyone

03.09.2012
Posted by Leon Fooksman of yourPBC.org

What are the consequences of juvenile crime in Palm Beach County? 

Consider this: juveniles committed 5,482 offenses last year, including 10 murders, manslaughter and attempted murder charges. 

Taxpayers paid $5.2 million to operate the Palm Beach County Juvenile Detention Center in 2010-2011. 

If you think about it, juvenile crime affects everyone. 

That’s the thought behind “A Lifetime of Consequences: Criminal Records of Juveniles” meeting scheduled from 2-5 pm, Monday, March 26, at Palm Beach Lakes High School at 3505 Shiloh Drive in West Palm Beach. 

It’s organized by Circuit 15 Juvenile Justice Board, which, among other things, provides advice and direction to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in developing and implementing juvenile justice programs in Palm Beach County. 

Reducing juvenile crime is becoming more challenging, as services to help children, particularly at-risk youth, are being slashed. 

The chair of Juvenile Justice Board, Barbara Cox Gerlock, summarized the funding situation in a newsletter last year: 

“Children are the future and their future is at risk. Perhaps at no time in our history since the Great Depression have children's issues been more important and less a funding priority. Funding for children's services seems to be taking a back seat to funding for defense, health care, and security.

Are the answers to cut these vital services? I think not. The answers are to add children as a national priority, to find innovative solutions to meet all our national priorities, explore new approaches to streamlining costs while increasing services to ensure a level of meaningful economic accountability and to spend wisely.

Without responsible young people, we cannot maintain our national defense, promote health and wellness, or ensure our national security.”

So again, what are the consequences of juvenile crime? Considering the cost to government, stolen property, loss of productivity, and pain and suffering caused to victims – it’s a substantial figure. Nationally, the costs are in the tens to hundreds of billions of dollars.

With that in mind, the discussion at “A Lifetime of Consequences: Criminal Records of Juveniles” meeting should be engaging.

For information on the meeting, contact Nora Collins-Mandeville (561) 670-0389 or ncollinsmandeville@gmail.com.