Lawmakers begin study of Nevada’s juvenile justice system

Friday, Nov. 5, 1999 | 10:43 a.m.

State lawmakers considered ways to eliminate dangerous influences of those gangs as they renewed an examination of Nevada's juvenile justice system on Thursday.

A study committee headed by Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, was told the latest estimates on gang numbers include about 6,300 in 201 gangs in the Las Vegas area and 1,400 members in 100 Reno-area gangs.

Kirby Burgess of the Clark County juvenile justice program said it's important to continue developing alternatives to jail for juveniles.

Burgess added his county, encompassing Las Vegas, is expanding its detention facility from 112 to 235 beds - "But I don't want this to be like 'Field of Dreams' - if we build it, we will fill it up."

Leonard Pugh of Washoe County's juvenile services said the key to all the most successful programs is "to get involved earlier where there's a better chance of successful intervention."

The two told lawmakers the system of evaluation and classification set up during the past two years along with a variety of intermediate sanctions designed to treat and correct behavior are the keys to winning the battle rather than putting juveniles in prison facilities.

But for those who must be put away, they said work is under way on a five-county residential juvenile facility in Silver Springs and a 96 bed facility in North Las Vegas for serious and chronic juvenile offenders.

Other sanctions in different counties now range from making first-time, less serious offenders report in daily to intensive supervision programs with drug and other counseling.

Washoe, Clark and other counties now have drug courts, and a truancy court is operating in Clark County. Counseling programs and job training also are available, along with residential programs to keep 24-hour tabs on some juvenile offenders.

Judge Bob Gaston, a member of the study committee, said those programs can make a major reduction in repeat offenders.

He said the biggest problem in southern Nevada has been with the Clark County School District which, he said, regards juvenile offenders as troublemakers it doesn't need.

"We have kids we want to put in school, who want to be in school, but we have nowhere to put them," he said. "The schools don't want to make room for them."