Connecticut GOP Seeking Special Session On Juvenile Crime

By Susan Haigh, The Bristol Press

July 8, 2021

Connecticut Republicans are circulating a petition among members of the General Assembly, demanding they return in special session and pass legislation concerning repeat juvenile offenders, arguing immediate action is needed to respond to a string of recent car thefts and other crimes.

Republicans are proposing to authorize courts to declare certain juveniles to be a risk to public safety, which would essentially eliminate the current six-hour limit on detaining juveniles without a court order. They also want legislation that would require courts to order such juveniles to be electronically monitored until their criminal proceedings are resolved.

Flanked by the police chiefs of New Britain and Wolcott at a news conference on Wednesday, GOP legislators and local officials said reforms under the previous governor to the state's juvenile justice laws and the 2018 closure of the old Connecticut Juvenile Training School have weakened the ability of the courts and law enforcement to adequately hold repeat juvenile offenders accountable.

New Britain Police Chief Chris Chute said a small population of repeat juvenile offenders have become so “bold that they're broadcasting on social media about how they're driving around in stolen cars” and “bragging about the robberies they're committing and the assaults they're committing.”

“They're taking no effort to hide their behaviors. And when we arrest them, they laugh at us because they know exactly what's going to happen - nothing. We're going to release them right back out," he said during a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol.

A 17-year-old with 13 previous arrests was recently charged in the fatal hit-and-run of a 53-year-old marathon runner in New Britain involving a stolen vehicle. Over the past 4 years, the teen had been arrested on a range of charges including assault with a knife, assault, robbery, reckless driving, larceny and possession of narcotics.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, on Wednesday issued a statement accusing the GOP members of using such a “tragic and painful event to attempt to score political points in an effort to push failed, excessively punitive policies from the 80s and 90s."

He said Republicans have “lost all credibility on public safety” when they were “silent on the U.S. Capitol insurrection” and opposed funding gun violence prevention programs in cities and other urban aid initiatives.

Republican members of the House of Representatives were meeting privately on Wednesday afternoon with Democratic House leaders, including House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, to continue discussions about policies on juvenile justice and related issues, they said in a statement last week.

Democrats have so far stopped short of agreeing to hold a special legislative session on the matter.

The General Assembly may call itself into special session with the agreement of a simple majority of the members of each chamber. House Republicans, the minority party in the chamber, were signing individual petitions after Wednesday's news conference.