Bill targets youths who assault DYS personnel
Lawmakers say they’re outraged that the state’s Department of Youth Services refuses to call in police even when juvenile offenders brutally assault staff members.
They claim the agency has even tried to stop staffers from bringing youthful inmates to court on their own.
A bill in the Legislature authored by state Rep. Thomas Golden would require DYS to report all staff assaults to prosecutors or state law enforcement officials so criminal charges can be pursued.
Currently, it’s up to staff members to pursue the cases on their own, which critics claim places them at risk for retribution.
“It’s absurd,” Golden said. “I can’t believe we have to file this piece of legislation. This is beyond common sense.”
Golden said agency officials even have tried to convince DYS staff members not to file charges. Just this week, the Lowell Democrat said, a department staff member called him claiming DYS officials told him not to report an assault to police. Golden refused to name the caller, who said he was afraid of being fired.
“Who are we protecting here?” the legislator asked. “Are we protecting the criminals or the people actually trying to do the right thing?”
DYS Commissioner Jane Tewksbury said she didn’t know of any incidents in which a staff member was discouraged from taking an assault claim to authorities, and she said her agency supports staffers who go to court.
“Certainly if that happened, we’d hope that it would be reported up to a staff person either through the union or to a manager,” Tewksbury said.
Juvenile inmates who attack a staff member face a range of consequences, from being moved to a more secure facility, to being assigned an individual therapist, Tewksbury said.
“There’s a big difference between the juvenile justice system and the criminal justice system,” Tewksbury said. “While they’re in custody, we need to provide whatever services our comprehensive assessment says they need so we can reduce the risk of reoffending.”
What they really need, said state Rep. Vincent Pedone (D-Worcester), is a trip before a judge.
“Time-outs and coddling kids don’t work when you’re talking about a 17-year-old repeat violent offender,” Pedone said.
The union that represents the staff members notes that they face the prospect of violence from juvenile inmates as old as 19 and others with gang connections.
“We have brutal assaults being committed on state property against state employees, and Commissioner Tewksbury is essentially choosing to look the other way,” said Jim Durkin, legislative agent for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 93. “This is truly a matter of life and death.”
Durkin, citing internal figures, claimed 182 staff assaults took place during a nine-month period ending in February. Tewksbury said there were 178 client-on-staff assaults or attempted assaults in 2010. Numbers from the first quarter of 2011 show a 20 percent decrease, she said.
“I think we’re on the right track,” Tewksbury said.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1348871
