Task Force To Study Juvenile Offenders Sought

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...State Representative John Tilley, who helped lead the overhaul of the state's criminal code last year, says he would like to establish a task force to study Kentucky's juvenile code. Tilley has introduced a resolution that would open a study into establishing an age of criminal responsibility and whether to modify how certain offenders are treated. Under the juvenile code, some "status offenders" who aren't guilty of a crime but may be runaways, truants or out of the control of their parents or school officials can be locked up in juvenile detention. Top state juvenile justice and court officials have said that too many children younger than 11 are brought before judges. Some representatives have introduced bills that would deal with some of the problems in the juvenile system. Tilley says he introduced the resolution not to stall those efforts, but to ensure that something's done for the state's children if they fail. If the task force is created, it would file a report by November 1st, and the lawmakers could tackle changes next year.