CT Senate approves bipartisan juvenile-justice legislation
HARTFORD — After a two-hour debate, the state Senate on Wednesday approved a wide-ranging juvenile justice package that cleared the House of Representative last week and next heads to Gov. Ned Lamont for final review.
Minority Republicans first attempted to amend the bill to strengthen criminal sanctions against juvenile car thieves, but Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, co-chairman of the law-writing Judiciary Committee, led the effort to defeat the proposal along party lines, and refuted claims that crime is on the rise.
A similar amendment was defeated in the House last week before it passed 129-17.
But as the debate continued, more Republicans admitted they would support the bill, which passed 35-1, with Sen. Dennis Bradley, D-Bridgeport, the lone opponent after he told lawmakers to invest more in educational programs before minors become at-risk to committing crimes.
“I don't think there's a victory here today,” Winfield said. “We have had a discussion about car thefts as they relate to juveniles, and people went out very early and started talking about the crisis that we had, before they knew what that meant. And the public heard that and saw things happening in their lives and they responded to a crisis that was happening. The data tells a story that during the height of the pandemic, you had less car thefts than you had during many of the administrations that preceded the current administration.”
“A safer Connecticut starts with a stronger Connecticut,” said Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford. “It's starts with an economy that works for its people that supports jobs, builds hope and creates a path for success for every person. It starts with proactive policing, appropriate consequences for repeat offenders, and ensuring a justice system that has the tools to successfully rehabilitate.”
Kelly, supporting the amendment, said the state's poor economy has “crushed” people.
“The state has a $4.8-billion surplus,” he said, stressing that jobtraining programs and more housing would get added support. “We need to create public housing that's safe, that is up to code and is a good community. Avoiding crime in the first place and getting at the root cause is necessary and needed.”
“Fundamentally, it is difficult to go to prison in Connecticut,” said Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, a top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. “You have to do something real serious and probably more than once. I have toured the correctional facilities. I have seen the televisions at the end of every bunk. There is evil in the world. We have those criminals in our state as well.”
“We forget the victims of crime,” said Sen. Dan Champagne, R-Vernon, a retired police officer. “We treat criminals as the victims. At what point do you say, enough is enough. Maybe we should have a legislator accountability bill. When we say second chance, but in the state of Connecticut, we mean the 30th chance, the 40th chance.”
The bill, most of which would take effect Oct. 1, would require a minor charged with a crime to be arraigned in court within five days of their arrest. It would also give state Superior Court judges the option to implement GPS monitoring for certain repeat motor vehicle offenders.
If signed into law, police could hold suspects for eight hours, instead of six, when they are seeking a detention order from a judge. It would make it easier for law enforcement to access the records on juvenile arrests. Additionally, the bill would treat all motor vehicle thefts the same. Instead of basing the punishment on the value of car, as is the case now, it would be focused on the number of offenses. A first car-theft offense would be a misdemeanor and second offense would be a felony.