Senate effort too soft

The House and Senate plan to act this fall on a series of criminal justice reforms, and there are certainly some areas of state law that need attention. There is broad agreement, for example, that serious drug addicts who commit crimes to feed their habit could benefit from treatment, in addition to (though not in place of) punishment.

But leave it to the Senate to include in its bill all the reforms a good Massachusetts liberal could dream up — including a plan to raise the age of criminal majority to 19, the highest in the country. The Senate bill might also lead to jailing fewer drug dealers.

It’s all part of an effort to reduce the “unnecessary” use of incarceration, supporters say — despite the fact that Massachusetts has one of the lowest incarceration rates in the country. Incarceration rates are higher among blacks and other minorities than their share of the general population, however, and some lawmakers think the best way to fix that disparity is by relaxing criminal statutes.

Now, this is just one step in the process. House Speaker Robert DeLeo this week announced that retired Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick Ireland will consult on the House reform effort, and Ireland will surely provide wise counsel given his deep experience on the bench.

And there do appear to be some worthwhile measures in the Senate bill.

But it isn’t too early to declare some sections ripe for trashing — and shielding 18-year-olds who commit crimes in this commonwealth from adult proceedings and adult consequences is one of them.

Sen. William Brownsberger (D-Belmont), sponsor of the Senate bill, told The Boston Globe that raising the age of criminal majority to 18 makes sense because it would treat “all the kids who are in high school” the same way.

That ignores the fact that 18-year-olds, regardless of grade level (or whether they’re in school

at all) are considered adults in nearly every other aspect of life — except maybe for buying alcohol. More troubling, an outline of the Senate bill contemplates eventually raising the age to 21.

This may be just a bargaining chip — we certainly hope so. Because Massachusetts policymakers all need to be pulling in the same direction on criminal justice reform, and that direction should not be backwards.