Peter Nickles has changed his mind on privacy laws.
He upbraided the Washington Examiner for naming a juvenile suspect in the South Capitol Street shootings because it forced him to admit D.C. cops had made a mistake in accusing the kid.
Now, after getting an earful from angry parents of victims of the shooting, Nickles wants to open up juvenile criminal records. The parents yelled at Nickles at a recent city council hearing.
“Why were these violent kids on the street?” one asked.
“Why can’t you keep the streets safe?” asked another.
“We all know the bad kids,” said a third. “Why were they allowed to kill our children?”
Nickles was surprised by their passion and intensity.
“They wanted to know what I had to say and what we were doing to change things,” he tells me. “That’s compelling.”
Criticism of D.C.’s juvenile justice system became even more compelling after we learned that the young men arrested and charged with killing principal Brian Betts had long rap sheets and should have been detained by the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.
The system’s failures are so compelling that Nickles is examining every aspect of how the city handles violent minors.
“I do not intend to sit on this,” Nickles says. “I should have something within 30 days. I’m looking at recommendations that have a bite.”
Promises, promises.
But Nickles does have a track record of changing the system when he’s provoked. He has jailed slumlords, closed down car dealerships and sued lenders for predatory loans. What makes his blood boil most about the juvenile system is secrecy.
“I am very disturbed by the confidentiality requirements,” he tells me. “They put a cloak of mystery in these cases of juveniles who are in the criminal justice system. How do you hold people accountable?”
Under current laws, criminal records for minors are never made public. Johnny across the street could have raped his sister. You would never know. Suzie next door could have shot her schoolmate. You might never know. It’s all secret.
“These records should be made available to the public,” he says. “I would trust the media and the people to interpret the information. We’re looking at how to open up the records.”
Many states already have made criminal records of juveniles and their court proceedings open to the public. The same is true for foster care and other social service proceedings. If Nickles can open these systems to the light of public scrutiny, he will go down as a true reformer.
“People want to know what’s going on — why are these kids on the street?” he says. “Let’s let some sunlight into the system.”
E-mail Harry Jaffe at
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