The following statement was presented to the Council of the District of Columbia, Committee on the Judiciary, The Honorable Phil Mendelson, Chair on June 12, 2006, at the Council Chamber, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

I want to thank the Committee for the opportunity to present this opening statement in support of Bill 16-732, the Mandatory Juvenile Public Safety Notification Amendment Act of 2006.  And I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for convening this hearing to consider a juvenile justice reform that is critical to public safety in the District of Columbia. If enacted, this law will not only enhance the safety of our communities, but also will serve our young people by helping us intervene earlier and more effectively in the lives of juvenile offenders in the District of Columbia.

 

To me, those are the two overriding goals of this legislation: community safety and the protection of our young people through early intervention and accountability. I do not believe that these two goals are incompatible.  In fact, I believe that they are very much complementary. Today, public safety in many of our communities depends, to a large extent, on how quickly we can identify juveniles who are at the greatest risk of becoming serious, career criminals, and how effectively we – as a government and as a society – can intervene and interrupt their path toward violence and self-destruction.

 

The measure before the committee today is not a panacea to the problem of juvenile crime or community safety.  But I believe it is a step in the right direction – one that will benefit both our communities and our children.