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Progress towards Reducing School-Related Arrests
in Pinellas County Public Schools I am Dave Plyer. I represent the Pinellas County Juvenile Justice Council. The Council is here, tonight, to evaluate your efforts to reduce school-related charges for childhood misbehavior. In January, we asked the Board to place a moratorium on school-related arrests for two behavioral charges—disorderly conduct and disruption of school environment—as a way to curb the flow of youth into the juvenile justice system. Since then, you held workshops and met with your principals, law enforcement and the judiciary. As our measure of your success, we use the number of school-related charges compiled by the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center. We are here tonight with your report card for the first quarter of this school year. The good news is that charges for childhood misbehavior are down 44% from 39 charges in the first quarter of last year to 22 this year. There are more school days in the second and third quarters, so charges, historically, increase. Last year, misbehavior charges jumped from 39 in the first quarter to 104 in the second. However, unlike prior years, charges declined since then: 93 in third quarter, 50 in fourth and 22 in the first quarter of this school year. Better news is that all school-related charges are down 53% from 173 in the first quarter of last year to 82 in the first quarter of this school year. Our concern is that while all charges are down, charges for misbehavior continue to account for over 25% of the total. Nonetheless, we commend your efforts and look forward to continued improvement. I close my remarks with a reminder that an arrest influences a child in unforeseen ways. In practical terms, the child has a lifetime arrest record maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; a record that can affect plans for a job, an apartment, college. Then, there is the emotional impact on a child taken from school in handcuffs past classmates and teachers. Or, a child’s day in court dressed in a jumpsuit and chained hand and foot; things to remember as we attempt to staunch the flow of students into our juvenile justice system. Thank you. |
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