Public Hearing /) !./I ·~~· before ASSEMBLY TASK FORCE ON JUVENILE CRIME "Disclosure of records of juvenile offenders and parental responsibility for juvenile offenses" LOCATION: Vineland City Hall DATE: May 4, 1994 Vineland, New Jersey 2:00 p.m. MEMBERS OF TASK FORCE PRESENT: Assemblyman Frank Catania, Chairman Assemblywoman Joanna Gregory-Scocchi, Assemblyman John c. Gibson Assemblyman Charles "Ken" Zisa ALSO PRESENT: Assemblyman Frank A. LoBiondo District 1 Carolyn I. Roscoe Wright Off ice of Legislative Services Acting Aide, Assembly Task Force on Juvenile Crime Hearing Recorded and Transcribed by The Office of Legislative Services, Public Information Office, Hearing Unit, State House Annex, CN 068, Trenton, New Jersey 08625 .lCISl..ATI\. l ·CKVICES COMMIS,ION ,Fl\,IATOR '~~ >ONAl..O T. 01FRANC£SCO i·t~ ~8' :ii. .. -· ·1s ....... ~SSEMBL YMAN ~ ~All.ABED "CHUCK" HAYTAIAN I 1C1 _,,.. ""'.,' ~du 3}2rs2u >tnf2 ~2ghdnfur2 iENATE OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES .Cl.ENN E. MOORE, Ill IYllON M. BAER Dirtclor of C1n1ral SI•!/ OHN 0. BENNETT LEGlSLA TJVE OFFICE BUILDING (609) 984-4811 =ERA LO CAllOlNALE CN-068 JOHN J. TUMULTY llCHAllO J. CODEY TRENTON, NEW JERSEY 08625-0068 Stelion Clti1/ ~YNONA M. LIPMAN (609) 292-5526 lOBERT E. LITTELL. ALBERT PORRONI C..iN A. LYNCH !ucwlioc Dirtclor :;fNEJlAL ASSEMBLY (609) 292 ...625 :HRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN NAYNE R. BRYANT, ESQ. 0.-EPH CHARLES. JR. OSEPH V. DORIA, JR. :LARE M. FARRACHER ...i1CHOLAS R. FELICE .ORETiA WEINBERG PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE The Assembly Task Force on Juvenile Crime will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, May 4, at 2:00 P.M. at Vineland City Hall, 7th and Wood Streets, Vineland, New Jersey. The topic will be disclosure of records of juvenile offenders and parental responsibility for juvenile offenses. The public may address comments and questions to Miriam Bava ti, Task Force A.ide and persons lvishing to testify should contact Elaine Fennelli, secretarr, at (609) 292-5526. Those persons presenting ·wTitten testimony should provide 10 copies to the Task Force on the day of the hearing. Issued 4/21 /9..; TABLE OF CONTENTS Joseph E. Romano Mayor Vineland, New Jersey 4 Senator William L. Gormley District 2 6 Robert J. Shannon Mayor Millville, New Jersey 9 Michael Brooke Fisher Prosecutor Cumberland County, New Jersey 11 James D. Harris Deputy Attorney General Chief Bureau of Juvenile Justice New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety 20 Arthur J. Marchand Freeholder Cumberland County, New Jersey 32 Jennifer Lookabaugh Freeholder Director Cumberland County, New Jersey 38 Stephen W. Moore Prosecutor Cape May County, New Jersey 39 James T. Plousis Sheriff Cape May County, New Jersey 43 Laura Pizzo Mayor Deerfield Township, New Jersey 47 John E. Bondi Police Chief Bridgeton, New Jersey 52 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Donald Olbrich Councilman Bridgeton, New Jersey 56 Joseph Santagata Councilman Buena Borough, New Jersey 57 Michael P. Brogan Police Officer Lower Township, New Jersey 58 Sharon Bloom Private Citizen 62 Larry Starner Parent of Murdered Children 67 Margaret Bitters School Psychologist Vineland Public Schools 73 Thomas P. Mccann Principal Landis School 77 Steve Plevins Private Citizen 78 Barry Bruner Mutual Aid Emergency Services 81 Stephanie Perlstein Private Citizen 82 Sonny Alexenberg Private Citizen 84 Dina Murray Private Citizen 88 Margaret Davis Private Citizen 88 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) George Williams President Coalition of Civic Associations of Cape May County, and President Civic Betterment Association of Lower Township 92 Terrence Coursey Martin Luther King Academy, and Chair Cumberland County Youth Service Commission 95 APPENDIX: Memorandum to Assemblyman John C. Gibson from Marianne Kornbluh-Lods Executive Director Greater Vineland Chamber of Corrunerce lx Memorandum to the N.J. Assembly Task Force on Juvenile Crime from Judith A. Manno and Joseph S. Manno 2x Copy of brochure from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office submitted by Sheriff James T. Plousis 3x mjz: 1-97 * * * * * * * * * * ASSEMBLYMAN FRANK CATANIA (Chairman): I apologize for being a little late. The drive from North Jersey took a little longer than normal, especially when I was looking for Exit 36A on the Parkway, and there is no 36A. It became a little difficult. Anyone wishing to testify, please sign in. We will have a list, and we wi 11 go in that particular order. We already have some people who wish to testify. First of all, I will see if any of the members of the Task Force have anything to say. ASSEMBLYMAN GIBSON: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to welcome everyone here today, and thank the Chairman for holding this important hearing down in our district, so we can hear from the people in this area on a subject that I know is very, very sensitive to them. I would also like to thank Mayor Romano and Chairman Ruskoski for their hospitality in providing these facilities for us. I want to thank a 11 of you for coming, for what you have to tel 1 us today, and for your interest in this subject. Violent crimes are no longer a big-city problem. Gone are the days when murder, rape, and kidnapping only happened in someone else's community. Youth violence is on the rise in our area. The statistics regarding juvenile crime are alarming. One in every five arrests is a juvenile in New Jersey, with juvenile arrests for 1992 totaling almost 89,000 statewide. Despite the 89,000 arrests statewide, as recently reported in the press, the number of juvenile arrests has decreased or held steady from 1982 to 1992. Locally, in Cumberland, Cape May, and Atlantic Counties, juvenile· arrests for violent offenses have increased. Here in Cumberland County alone, there were 223 juvenile arrests for violent crimes in 1992, an increase of 162 percent. We must develop solutions to this serious problem that now affects all of us, but they must be your solutions. This 1 Assembly Task Force was created to study juvenile crime in New Jersey by holding hearings like this throughout the State and reporting back to the full Legislature and the Governor with recommended solutions. By addressing the issues of juvenile crime, and, in particular, the disclosure of juvenile records and parental responsibility, we can work together to combat this increasing and frustrating situation. With new legislative initiatives, we hope to lower the juvenile crime rate and make our communities again safe. Thank you, again, for attending, for caring enough to take the time out to share your concerns. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. ASSEMBLYMAN CATANIA: Thank you, Assemblyman. Assemblyman LoBiondo? ASSEMBLYMAN LoBIONDO: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your taking the time to bring the Task Force here to Vineland. I thank everyone for coming out today on this very important issue. It is certainly an issue that has hit very close to home for us in Cumberland County and the City of Vineland with recent events, and only highlights the need to act on these measures. Most recently, I met with Mayor Romano of Vineland and Mayor Shannon of Millville. I thank them for taking the time to bring their concerns directly in on issues of juvenile crime. We have met with school officials. I was really surprised to hear that because of current laws, they cannot share information with the police, and the police cannot share information with them on students who may be dangerous. I believe, and have said so publicly, that these names should be released and parents should be held accountable; and that, in fact, we need to be treating these dangerous individuals as the criminals they are. They are commiting adult crimes; they should be treated as adults in many situations and instances. 2 Again, we are very appreciative, Mr. Chairman, of you bringing the Task Force here to Vineland. Thank you. ASSEMBLYMAN CATANIA: Thank you, Assemblyman LoBiondo. Assemblywoman Gregory-Scocchi? ASSEMBLYWOMAN GREGORY-SCOCCHI: Hi. I would just like to welcome every one here, and again thank the Chairman for bringing the Task Force down to Vineland. I am from Middlesex County, so it was a bit of a drive for me, also. However, I feel this is one of the most important topics that the citizens of New Jersey face today. It is something that I have been interested in since I was about 18 years old, when I was first a Big Sister type of person to a juvenile who was in a group home trying to get her life together. It has been one of the continuing things through my life that I have been interested in, and I am very pleased to be on this Task Force to be able to make the recommendations, so that, hopefully, we can start to fix the juvenile justice system here in New Jersey. It very badly needs reform. Thank you, everyone, for coming. ASSEMBLYMAN CATANIA: Thank you, Assemblywoman. Assemblyman Zisa? ASSEMBLYMAN ZISA: I, too, just want to thank everyone for being here today to participate. It is through these types of forums that we try to do our work as the State Legislature. From the previous hearings, we have gained a tremendous insight into the juvenile justice system. We have come into a tremendous amount of knowledge of what is working and what does not seem to be working. So I thank you all for taking the time to participate. I encourage you to get up to speak your mind, because it is with this input that we will be able to try to complete our mission. Thanks again for coming. ASSEMBLYMAN CATANIA: Thank you, Assemblyman. 3 At this time, I would like to thank the Mayor, Mayor Joseph Romano, for inviting us here to have this hearing today. Mayor, do you have any remarks? M A Y 0 R J 0 S E P H E.