Juvenile justice outrage unfolds in Florida

Florida probably ranks as one of the worst states for locking up children and adults in abusive confinement facilities. This story shows that Florida is about to make it even easier to lock kids up who haven't even committed a crime. It also shows the increasing melding of government and Big Business.

The Florida Department of Corrections has teamed up with IBM to develop software that claims to predict which children will break the law in the future - so the "best course of treatment" can be chosen.

Profiling kids so they can be locked up? That's exactly what this is.

Then again, it's not as if this represents a huge change from the ruinous policy that's afflicted American youth for the past quarter-century. The unconstitutional practice of locking up kids in psychiatric or other facilities without a trial seems to already fulfill the role of IBM's software.

What does this teach our kids? It doesn't teach that actions have consequences. All it teaches is that whatever actions you take, the consequences will always be negative. In the world of the teen confinement industry, all roads lead to the same punishing end.

(Source: http://criminaljustice.change.org/blog/view/florida_to_punish_kids_for_crimes_they_havent_committed_yet)