OFFICIALS: TOUGHER JUVENILE LAWS NEEDED

Improved means of identifying and punishing juveniles who commit serious crimes are imperative, area law enforcement officials told Sen. John Ashcroft Tuesday.

Officers from several departments in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties, the Drug Enforcement Agency and federal and state judges talked with the Missouri senator in a teleconference from the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

Ashcroft was to tour the city before meeting in person with the officials, but inclement weather grounded his plane in St. Louis.

Ashcroft, who is sponsoring federal legislation to crack down on youthful offenders, was seeking first-hand input on the effects of juvenile crime.

The senator initiated the legislation due to four concerns:

-- While overall crime is down, juvenile crime is rising.

-- Marijuana use is increasing.

-- Many juvenile offenders perceive the present system can't touch them.

-- Adults are recruiting youths to commit crimes because juvenile penalties are much more lenient.

"It is to send the message that the more heinous, violent juvenile crimes are something not to be tolerated," Ashcroft said.

The officers reinforced his concerns.

"I think I can speak for every jurisdiction in saying there is an increase in juvenile crime caused by a resurgence in drug use among our youth," said Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard "Butch" Boyd

Boyd said that not only marijuana, but also LSD, methamphetamine and crack cocaine are serious problems. The drug trade, he said, leads to other crimes ranging to theft to murder.

Capt. Robert Gee of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety echoed those sentiments.

"In Sikeston our juvenile crime problem is on the rise -- robberies and, especially in the summer, running gun battles between youths," Gee said.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan said it is true that juveniles feel they have nothing to fear from the courts.

"One thing we see dealing with our juvenile clientele today is the absolute attitude that 'you can't touch me,'" Jordan said, adding that stricter laws are vital to prove to younger offenders that they will be punished.

Said Boyd: "When I started 30 years ago, we were protecting children against adult society. Now it has changed and we have to protect adult society from juveniles."

Juvenile officer Randy Rhodes said that due to lack of bed space, the Department of Youth Services often has to release offenders after only short stays.

Since the juvenile system doesn't come down on offenders as hard as adult courts, Gee said children are used by adult criminals to commit crimes for them.

"They really think if juveniles have the guns and drugs we will just pat them on the back and let them go," said Gee.

Poor flow of information among law enforcement agencies and with schools also is a concern.

Many youthful offenders have moved into this area from metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis. But Boyd and Gee said it is next to impossible to get records on such offenders.

Ashcroft's proposed legislation calls for the inclusion of juvenile crime records in a nationwide tracking system administered by the FBI, as it does for adult criminal records. Boyd said he would like to see the fingerprints of juvenile offenders also entered into a tracking system.

Other components of the senator's legislation provide states with a financial incentive to make it easier to try juveniles as adults -- especially repeat offenders -- and provide schools greater records access.

It would also eliminate a loophole in the Individuals With Disabilities Act, which Ashcroft said is used by offenders with handicaps to escape punishment for crimes committed on school property.