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Dear Neighbor,
Over the last several years, we’ve watched something deeply troubling unfold in our city: kids—some as young as twelve, thirteen years old—are being pulled into violent crimes by adults who know exactly how to exploit our system. Nearly 1/3rd of all gang-related crimes are committed by youth here in San José.
And the truth is: our current juvenile laws make it easier for gangs to use children as weapons.
Right now in California, a juvenile under 18 cannot even waive their Miranda rights or speak with law enforcement unless an attorney signs off first. And predictably, attorneys always advise them to stay silent.
So when a 15- or 16-year-old is being manipulated by an older gang member, we can’t ask them to identify the adult, we can’t stop the recruitment, and we can’t stop the cycle. It’s a loophole that gangs understand better than most lawmakers.
At the same time, our sentencing structure for juveniles is vague, inconsistent, and capped in ways that don’t match the seriousness of the crimes we’re seeing.
Because today, even the most serious offenders often stay in county juvenile hall—and here is the kicker: they have to be released by 25. So for example, if a person commits a horrific murder the day before their 18th birthday, and they are tried in juvenile court, the longest they could be sentenced is seven years. No matter if they show remorse, no matter the nature of the crime, and no matter how much rehabilitation they demonstrate, their punishment is capped.
Transfer to adult court requires proving a young person is beyond rehabilitation, which is an almost impossible standard to meet—even in homicide cases. If they’re 13, and committed a serious crime, they may not enter a secure facility at all.
We saw that when a 13-year-old stabbed and killed a 15-year-old at Santana Row over Valentine’s Day weekend this year. I hope we don’t see that again for the 17 year-old who shot three people and terrorized thousands last weekend on Black Friday at Valley Fair.
All of this adds up to one outcome: adult gang members exploit kids because the system treats those kids as low-risk, low-consequence tools. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
We can protect our kids by pursuing targeted, common-sense reforms:
- Increase penalties for adults who recruit minors to commit crimes.
- Allow officers to Mirandize juveniles—with an adult guardian present—so we can actually identify who is manipulating them.
- Modernize juvenile sentencing so the most serious, violent offenders can be held longer and get real rehabilitation—not a revolving door.
We need to address the loopholes in our criminal justice system. And we need to protect our kids by making sure they have role models, afterschool programming and something productive to do on weekends and summers. But we can’t do it alone.
The San José Youth Empowerment Alliance focuses on community-based programming and City-based intervention and neighborhood services. You can take a look at their programming here.
This year, the City also partnered with the SJ Quakes to put on a pilot program called Saturday Night Lights (SNL), which provided soccer coaching to kids at two East Side schools. And we saw real results—100% of 8th grade Futsal participants were promoted to high school, including 4 students who were at-risk of being held back, and school attendance went up 30% for program participants. (Thanks to Councilmember Candelas for helping us get this program funded this time around!)
I’m going to do my best to make sure SNL is expanded in the coming year along with another after school program we currently support, the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (BAWSI), which harnesses the power of sports to reach young women and students with disabilities, and empower them to develop their leadership and life skills.
Our SJ Sharks also make major investments in the community they call home. They put on numerous programs including Reading is Cool, Stick to Fitness, and a multitude of afterschool hockey clinics and training sessions.
We need more partners like the Sharks and Earthquakes to join us in expanding programming for our young people so there are always safe alternatives to the streets where kids can belong and thrive.
Because our young people deserve better than being thrown into a justice system that isn’t built to protect them—and far better than being used as pawns by people who see them as disposable. We need to do better for them and for the future of our city, our state and our country.
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