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Before turning to juvenile justice, Roth briefly addresses two lengthy responses to the Broken Trust essay — which he and his co-authors published in the Star-Bulletin the previous week — that appeared in that morning's paper. The main discussion features three practitioners who largely agree that public fear of youth crime outstrips the facts. Meda Chesney-Lind, principal investigator of the Hawaii Youth Gang Project, presents data showing a thousands-percent increase in media coverage of juvenile crime while arrests in Hawaii have actually declined in the past two years — a media crime wave, not a real one. Michael Town, senior judge of the Family Court, explains Hawaii's waiver system (now applicable from age 14), notes the state sends only 10 to 20 juveniles to adult court annually versus 100 or more in comparable mainland cities, and identifies the shortage of intermediate care facilities as the critical gap. Iwalani White, first deputy prosecutor, argues that opening family court to public observation will restore community confidence and that some youth require secure placement alongside treatment. The sharpest disagreement concerns transparency: Chesney-Lind worries that publicity stigmatizes young offenders, while White argues openness is essential to public trust.
Transcript
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Companion newspaper commentaries
Commentaries by the guests, published in The Honolulu Advertiser around the broadcast.
