Juvenile justice was one of the hot topics discussed Friday as six candidates for California governor gathered in the South Bay.
During the meeting of the California State Association of Counties, most gubernatorial candidates agreed that the current way of approaching juvenile crime might need a revisit.
The discussion came on the heels of a shooting at Valley Fair mall in the South Bay. Investigators claim the suspected gunman, a 17-year-old who was already on probation for a gun crime, opened fire on a perceived gang rival in the crowded mall on Black Friday. The crime and the teen suspect have since fueled an ongoing debate over California laws regarding teen offenders.
Here’s some of what three of the gubernational candidates had to say on the matter.
Steve Hilton: “On crime, we gotta challenge the ideology that has been pushed for so long: criminal justice reform, decarceration, not holding people accountable. That’s the disaster.”
Xavier Becerra: “We absolutely have to revisit anything that allows kids to be killed by kids.”
Katie Porter: “I think one of the lessons that the data probably shows about juvenile justice is when you allow the problem to continue, the interventions then don’t work.”
Both Becerra and Porter also noted that while they believe reform is needed, they don’t believe an “incarcerate them all” attitude is the answer.
NBC Bay Area was unable to speak about the issue with the other three candidates who attended the event.