Moving Youths From Rikers

The transfer of 16- and 17-year-olds from Rikers Island to the Horizon Juvenile Detention Center was managed poorly. Instead of youth development specialists trained to de-escalate matters and provide interventions, corrections officers are using force to maintain a system of control.

Their union’s notion that they must respond to fights with force or pepper spray points to a major underlying problem: The wholesale transfer of corrections officers to Horizon implants the culture of Rikers and perpetuates violence.

Treating these young people like violent criminals strips them of hope. I was lucky; I survived my time as a juvenile on Rikers. Today, as associate vice president at the Fortune Society, I work to undo the damage caused by a punitive justice system with programs that promote growth and positive behavior.