Nearly 75% of Connecticut residents want the state to focus efforts on prevention and rehabilitation of young people in the criminal justice system. That’s the results of a survey released this week by youth justice advocacy groups.
Christina Quaranta is the executive director for the Connecticut Justice Alliance.
She said the survey confirms that residents support alternatives to youth incarceration, and lawmakers have an opportunity to enact reforms to reduce putting young people behind bars.
The poll also found that Connecticut residents favor federal incentives to state and local governments that shift investments away from the incarceration of youth towards community service.
In Connecticut, children as young as 7 years old can be charged with a crime and sent to juvenile court. The American Civil Liberties Union said confining youth harms their development and can have lifelong negative consequences.
