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By Kathryn Wiley|Published Date: July 20, 2010
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Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, under fire over juvenile crime and locked in a tight reelection fight, has named Robert Hildum, a prosecutor with the attorney general's office, as the new juvenile justice chief, according to an article in the Washington Post.
Hildum has been the city’s top juvenile prosecutor and is familiar to senior officials at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. Nevertheless, his appointment surprised many people and raised fears among some advocates that juvenile justice reform could be set back.
“With today’s abrupt decision, the mayor just headed in exactly the wrong direction and risks the stability of these reforms,” said Liz Ryan, head of the Campaign for Youth Justice. Hildum will replace Marc Schindler, who was named interim director in January.
City Attorney General Peter Nickles, who was the lead lawyer in a class-action suit over the city’s juvenile justice system before joining the Fenty administration, said Hildum is committed to maintaining and accelerating the reform efforts of the past several years.
“As the lead lawyer for the advocates for many, many years, I would never support a nominee who would not further the efforts that I spent so many years promoting,” Nickles said. He added that Hildum’s experience as a prosecutor is an asset at a time when some critics have said that the agency’s focus on rehabilitation has come at the expense of public safety.
After a string of crimes linked to juveniles that began with a mass shooting last spring on South Capitol Street, DYRS was criticized, including by the attorney general. Nickles asked Hildum and others in the office to review DYRS.
Although it has not been released or described in detail, the report has been cited repeatedly by Nickles in his bid to make changes at the department.
To read the article, click here.
For more information about juvenile justice, visit Justice Fellowship’s resource page here. |
