Justice News
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 19, 2015
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The agreement with the city of Meridian addresses the Meridian Police Department’s prior practice of arresting students referred by the school district without assessing whether there was sufficient probable cause to justify the arrest. The settlement agreement prohibits the city police department from arresting youth for behavior that is appropriately addressed as a school discipline issue, and requires documented probable cause determinations for any youth arrested for criminal offenses. The agreement also requires the city police department to uphold constitutional protections following a youth’s arrest, mandating Miranda warnings as soon as a youth reasonably believes he or she is not free to leave and prohibiting officers from interviewing detained youth unless a guardian or attorney is present.
The agreement with the state of Mississippi addresses the department’s claims of unconstitutional youth probation practices by the Mississippi Division of Youth Services. The settlement agreement requires state probation officers to implement measures to protect youths’ privilege against self-incrimination, including providing youths with age-appropriate explanations of their rights and the probationary process. The agreement also includes requirements for the contracts that establish the restrictions and rules that youth on probation must comply with. These contracts must be written in terms that are easily understandable to youths and that prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement, and include a clear explanation of the youth’s rights. The agreement prohibits probation officers from recommending incarcerating youths for violations of their probation contracts that would not otherwise amount to detainable offenses, unless and until all other reasonable alternatives to incarceration have been exhausted.
“We commend the city of Meridian and the state of Mississippi’s Department of Human Services and Division of Youth Services for taking these important steps toward ensuring that school disciplinary issues are not inappropriately criminalized, ” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “Going forward, the Department of Justice expects to work with Meridian and the state of Mississippi to ensure that children’s constitutional rights are protected in police and probation practices.”
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