news

Site Home > news home
AUSTIN - Governor George W. Bush signed into law today a measure that requires automatic detention for any juvenile who commits a crime with a firearm or who is arrested for unlawfully carrying a handgun. House Bill 1269, sponsored by Sen. Florence Shapiro and Rep. Toby Goodman, requires the offender remain in juvenile lock-up until a judge has a hearing and determines it is safe to let the youth out. "This law sends a clear message to all juveniles and gang members that crimes committed with a firearm are taken seriously in Texas," said Governor Bush. "If a juvenile in Texas commits a crime with a gun or is caught unlawfully carrying a gun, he or she will spend time locked up until a judge says it is okay to be released." The hearing by the judge must occur within the first 48 hours of detention. Juvenile intake officers also have the option of telephoning a judge who can then consider the facts of the case and make the release decision by telephone, an option that is particularly useful in rural counties that do not have detention centers. Under current law, juvenile probation departments can release a juvenile immediately even if they have been arrested for committing a gun-related offense. During his 1998 campaign, Governor Bush proposed a law to require automatic detention of juveniles who commit a crime with a firearm. Dallas County already has a similar program that requires all youths who commit gun-related offenses to be detained in juvenile lock-up. "Texas must send a clear message about kids and guns," said Governor Bush. "We should not be letting kids charged with a crime involving a deadly weapon such as a handgun out of jail until a judge has a chance to review the case." The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, 1999, does not apply to juveniles who are lawfully carrying a gun. Governor Bush has made juvenile justice reform a top priority throughout his administration. He has worked with the Texas Legislature to toughen juvenile crime laws. Reforms include: rewriting the Juvenile Justice Code lowering to 14 the age at which the most violent juveniles can be tried as adults expanding the use of fingerprinting and photographing juvenile criminals to help police track gangs creating weapon-free school zones toughening penalties for selling guns to kids encouraging the use of boot camps and "tough love" academies to house and rehabilitate juvenile offenders.

Uploaded: 7/28/1999