Wansley Walters has been actively involved in child advocacy for over 25 years. She is the Director of the Miami-Dade County Juvenile Services Department which has a mission to serve both arrested juveniles and juveniles at risk of being arrested. Previously known as the Miami-Dade Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC), it is the largest juvenile arrest processing center in the United States. Wansley Walters developed and heads a national demonstration project with the U.S. Department of Justice and over 30 national researchers in the field of juvenile justice. Her Department also partners with the White House Office of Drug Control Policy and serves as a national model. She is a frequent presenter on juvenile justice at both national and international conferences.

Wansley Walters received the Pioneer Award for the 2004 In the Company of Women for her work in juvenile justice. She currently serves on the Miami-Dade Juvenile Justice Board and the Miami-Dade Youth Crime Task Force. She is a Board member of the Florida Juvenile Justice Association and Chair of the Children’s Mental Health Committee for the District 11 Florida Department of Children and Families. Previously, she served as the Chairperson of the Dade Health and Human Services Board and Chairperson of the Dade-Monroe Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Planning Council for the State of Florida.

QUESTION.- How would you define the ‘Martin Lee Anderson Act’?

ANSWER.- The ‘Martin Lee Anderson Act’ eliminates the operation of traditional 'boot camps' in the State of Florida for juvenile offenders and replaces them with STAR (Sheriff’s Training and Respect) Academies. In addition, it implements policies and procedures to protect juveniles enrolled in these new programs. These new programs also focus on different methods to modify a youth’s behaviour.

Q.- What was the social and politic context at the origin of the law?

A.- This Act became law after the tragic death of a young man named Martin Lee Anderson. He was sent to a boot camp funded by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice that was operated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Department in Panama City, Florida. Martin died the day after seven guards attempted to make him exercise after he had collapsed. The event itself resulted in outrage throughout the State of Florida and the United States. The Miami Herald newspaper and CNN filed lawsuits to view a video of what had taken place. The tape of the officers and the unconscious boy, observed by a nurse, was horrific and difficult to watch. Reforms to the juvenile justice system and a thorough investigation of the death were demanded by politicians and citizens in Florida.

Q.- What was the situation of juveniles in conflict with the law before the ‘Martin Lee Anderson Act’ was approved in Florida?

A.- Juveniles who are arrested and charged with criminal offences move through a juvenile justice system in the State of Florida that is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Justice. The state system works in partnership with the local counties and areas of responsibility are shared. Less serious offenders enter community diversion programs and remain at home. Many times, these offenders avoid court altogether. Repeat and more serious offenders are remanded to the court and usually sentenced to high risk, secure residential programs. This is the category that utilized former boot camps and the new STAR Academies.

Q.- What are state boot camps?

A.- Boot Camps in the State of Florida were established by State Statute in 1989, although the first did not open until 1993. By 1994, there were six such programs being operated by Sheriff Departments in different counties. The camps were created to target deep-end, serious juvenile offenders. This is in contrast to adult boot camps which are typically designed for first-time, non-violent offenders.

The statute defines Boot Camps as “intensive educational and physical training and rehabilitative program for appropriate children”. In fact, literature from the Florida DJJ states that the program was “designed to ‘shock’ the youths into compliance by strict military style discipline”. A second statute change authorized the use of residential boot camps for low and moderate –risk offenders. Within the operation of the original six boot camps in Florida, there was a range of operational approaches from strict military style to less regimented with an avoidance of a strict military atmosphere.

Q.- What main changes or improvements does this law contribute to the juveniles welfare?

A.- While the original statute that created boot camps allowed for a variety of approaches and services to juveniles, the Martin Lee Anderson Act is very specific in what services, approaches, and safeguards will be in place in the operation of these academies. Most significant are the protections that are in place.

Q.- What are the main aims of the new programme STAR ‘Sheriff’s Training and Respect’?

A.- Florida's STAR academies are designed to include intensive educational, vocational and substance abuse services to provide innovative tools that will redirect youth away from delinquent behaviours. Additionally, the measure provides services to ensure youth leaving the program will continue on a path to success through aftercare services. Most importantly, these new academies will not use physical or mental intimidation in their contact with juveniles.

Q.- What are the characteristics of the sanctions and restrictive techniques stipulated in the programme?

A.- The new STAR Academies, as with Boot Camps, will be used as a sanction for youth considered to be in the high risk of re-offending category. The State of Florida utilizes five custody classifications based on the assessed risk to public safety. The average stay in high-risk residential programs is between 12 to 18 months, and the average stay in maximum-risk programs is between 18-36 months. The new STAR Academies will have a much less confrontational approach and will focus on modifying behaviour without physical intervention.

Q.- How will the new programme STAR ‘Sheriff’s Training and Respect’ protect and fulfil the basic needs of minors?

A.- The new law requires that instances of abuse or misconduct on the part of anyone involved in the STAR program be immediately reported to an abuse hotline in place and be immediately investigated by the Florida Department of Children and Family. The distinction of this is the investigation by the state department responsible for child welfare. It is a separate and independent authority from the Department of Juvenile Justice, who fund and oversee the programs. It also prohibits physical intervention when a juvenile does not comply with instruction. Additionally, it insures enhanced medical examinations and oversight.

Q.- What are the differences between the programme STAR ‘Sheriff’s Training and Respect’ and the state boot camps?

A.- These new programs are designed to be less confrontational, provide more intensive mental health and psycho-social services, as well as intensive education programs. Youth participants have enhanced access to medical care and examinations. This is in addition to the safeguards in place to protect the juveniles.

Q.- Does this law put any emphasis on a specific training for guards who are in contact with the minors? If so, which kind of training do they receive?

A.- Yes, some changes in training for guards at STAR Academies have been mandated. The State of Florida requires anyone who work with or have contact with juveniles to take a course in PAR (Protective Action Response). This applies to all programs including community based for minor offenders who remain home and Juvenile Assessment Centers (community based facilities that process arrested juveniles). The version that programs must pass is under the auspices of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. It is designed for working with juveniles and focuses how to deflect aggressive action with a minimum of contact. Law enforcement officers in the State of Florida also have a PAR course used for adult criminal offenders. It allows police to be more aggressive in their approach to subduing aggression. Before the Martin Lee Anderson Act, law enforcement officers and their training were allowed to work with juveniles without taking the more restrictive juvenile PAR training. That has changed and now all police and sheriffs must pass the other course for juveniles.

Q.- To which age group do the minors that participate in the programme STAR ‘Sheriff’s Training and Respect’ belong and what is its medium duration?

A.- STAR Academies serve juvenile offenders, age 14 through 17. The minimum duration for participation is 8 (eight) months. While there were six Juvenile Boot Camps, there is only one operational STAR Academy at this time. It is being operated by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Bartow, Florida. It will serve up to 100 boys.

Q.- What kind of crimes did the minors that participate in the programme STAR ‘Sheriff’s Training and Respect’ commit?

A.- The crimes that a youth commit to be enrolled in a STAR Academy differ from county to county depending on the Judges in the district. Within a community, however, it would mirror the offences that would have normally enrolled that child in a Boot Camp. For example, in Miami-Dade County only juveniles charged with life or capital felonies (murders and armed robberies and others) that would be transferred to the Adult Criminal System would be sent to a Boot Camp. A child in the juvenile system in Miami would not have received that as a sanction. However, Martin Lee Anderson was sent to the Boot Camp where he died for joyriding in his grandmother’s vehicle. While the original statute designated these types of programs for serious offenders, it was later changed to include juveniles that were not high risk.

Q.- Is the fulfilment of the sentence within the programme STAR ‘Sheriff’s Training and Respect’ voluntary or mandatory for the minor?

A.- Participation in a STAR Academy is mandatory and ordered by the Court. It is considered a sanction for committing an offence. It is not possible for anyone to enter the program on a voluntary basis.

Q.- Do the minors that participate in the programme STAR ‘Sheriff’s Training and Respect’ have any psychological assistance at their disposal?

A.- This is one of the most significant differences with STAR Academies as compared to Boot Camps. There is a requirement that psychological evaluations be provided and followed up with individualized mental health treatment. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice has determined that state-wide, approximately two-thirds of boys in the juvenile justice system have psychological disorders that require treatment.

Q.- . Do you think that the Martin Lee Anderson Act and the new STAR Academies represent a significant improvement to the juvenile justice system in Florida?

A.- This represents an important shift in the approach to working with the most serious juvenile offenders in Florida. At the local level in many cities including Miami where I am from, prevention and work with low level juvenile offenders has focused on the individual needs of the child and his family. We have dedicated a great deal of effort in assessments in order to put the juvenile in the right program that provides the right service for him. This has proven to be very successful in the past few years and we have seen a significant reduction of juvenile arrests. Unfortunately, children moving through the deep end of the system in court ordered secure facilities did not always receive that level of individual attention. That has been changing and the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice has made great strides in improving the level of service in contracted secure programs. The elimination of boot camps also addresses the controversy that has always followed this approach with juveniles. I am proud that our state will no longer allow boot camps for our children. It is shameful that it took the tragic death of Martin Lee Anderson to accomplish this.

NOTE:
Eight former employees of the Bay County Sheriff's Office have been charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson. If convicted, the seven former guards and one nurse could face up to 30 years in prison.