The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 11, 1999, Page 6, Image 6

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Bill package would work
to aid juvenile offenders
JUVENILES from page 1
Services, the Nebraska Commission
on Law Enforcement and other state
agencies.
The board would help determine
“how we got in the mess we’re in,”
Thompson said, referring to over
crowding and inefficiencies in the sys
tem.
Committee Chairman Sen. Kermit
Brashear of Omaha said he was unsure
the board would be worthwhile.
“I’m trying to decide if we’re really
going to accomplish anything or if this
will just be one of the many reports that
float around state government but
don’t get used,” he said.
Another bill, LB652, would autho
rize a two-cent-per-pack cigarette tax
hike to fund building repairs and
improved staff and services at the
state’s Youth Rehabilitation and
Treatment Centers.
State juvenile facilities in Kearney
and Geneva are filled beyond capacity
with juvenile offenders, some of whom
must live three to a room in rooms
designed for one or two people.
Mike Zgud, representing a juvenile
facility employees’ union, said some of
the buildings on the Kearney and
Geneva facilities were “a deplorable
sight.”
The state must provide more fund
ing if those facilities are to continue
handling juvenile offenders, he said.
Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha,
who is a member of the Judiciary
Committee, said the state should con
sider moving its juvenile justice cen
ters to the eastern part of the state.
Most juvenile offenders come from
Omaha and Lincoln, he said, and they
would be better served by facilities
closer to their homes.
Thompson said the state should
consider shifting toward more commu
nity-based handling of juvenile offend
ers. Even so, she said, the Geneva and
Kearney facilities would remain indis
pensable.
Alan Jensen, administrator of the
Geneva center, said the facility’s cur
rent centralized location best served
the needs of the entire state.
LB448 would add a $10 fee to
court filing fees. Counties would
receive 60 percent of these additional
funds to improve community juvenile
. justice systems, while the Office of
Juvenile Services would receive the
remaining 40 percent.
Chambers objected, saying the
entire state should support additional
support for the juvenile justice system,
66
We need these types
of facilities. They are
the place of only
resort for some of
these kids.”
Sen. Nancy Thompson
not just those who file court fees.
“I’m against any attempt to piggy
back everything on court costs,” he
said.
Thompson said she would prefer
that the state’s general fund, which is
supplied by income and sales taxes,
pay for increased community juvenile
justice support. But given pressures on
lawmakers to restrict spending, a gen
eral fund appropriation is unlikely, she
said.
“I wish there were a better way, but
I think this is the best we have to offer
at this time,” she said.
Another bill, LB447, would autho
rize an in-depth study of the state’s
juvenile probation system.
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Police continue
crackdown on
‘unruly’ parties
PARTIES from page 1
stores. The minors stand outside and
ask people to buy for them.
Police are also working closely with
bars and the Responsible Hospitality
Council to make sure they are not serv
ing alcohol to minors, Citta said.
“We are certainly looking to make
sure people don’t have access to alcohol
if they are underage,” Citta said.
Such police vigilance toward alco
hol violations has contributed to a dra
matic increase in the number of minor
in possession of alcohol citations hand
ed out over the last six years.
In 1993,489 minors were cited for
alcohol possession - a number that has
steadily increased each year to 1,092
citations in 1998, a 123 percent increase
over six years.
In 1998, there were 380 more cita
tions issued than in 1997, a 53 percent
increase in one year.
Casady said that most of those cited
are 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds, but plen
ty of middle school and high school
aged children also are cited. „
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