PANEL APPROVES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PA. JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

A Pennsylvania House committee has approved a bill that recommends overhauling Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system. The Judiciary Committee voted 14-11 along party lines to approve House Bill 1381 which would enact ideas proposed by the Juvenile Justice Task Force two years ago. Those ideas include keeping youthful offenders, especially those of color, from being incarcerated and being tried as adults. The task force report found that Pennsylvania arrests juveniles at rates that are higher than those in neighboring states. It also found that the state arrests youth of color unfairly and excessively tries them as adults.