Glennon said he hopes the job will continue with the District Attorney’s Office and “hopes to continue this job in the future.”
Hayden spokesman James Borgesani declined to comment on the termination, but the office’s “commitment to juvenile diversion” remains unchanged, and residents should expect a decrease in the number of juvenile diversion cases. More than 60 percent of youth complaints are diverted in any given year, according to the agency’s website, and advocates keep youth out of the criminal justice system and into social services-based programs. We call it a worthwhile effort to
“We have never cut our boy corps,” Bolgesani said. Said. “If anything, we are strengthening it.”
Public scrutiny of Hayden’s policies has intensified after he defeated progressive candidate Ricardo Arroyo, a Boston city council member and leading reformist candidate. for Massachusetts. Hayden was appointed Governor Charlie Baker to replace Rollins. With no opponents in the November general election, Hayden plans to finish his term in January.
Despite leaning towards more moderate policies, Hayden previously told The Globe that he would embrace criminal justice reform. ‘ he said.
During the course of his campaign, he often directly cited Glennon’s work on juvenile diversion as evidence of his commitment to reform.
As Head of the Juvenile Unit, Glennon has played a key role in building and scaling up the Community Partnership, the Juvenile Alternative Solutions Program. Founded in 2017, it provides focused and personalized services to young people as an alternative to prosecution.
his dismissal Concerned by the move, several criminal justice reformers have suggested going back in time to a tougher, prosecution-first response.
“It’s worrying for us,” said Andrea James, founder of the criminal law reform organization Families for Justice as Healing. “In terms of the prosecutor’s prosecutor, it scares us that he’s trying to rewind his time.”
“Because I’m worried [Glennon] Ruth Zakarin, an advocate for gun violence reduction and juvenile justice, is someone who has taken this task seriously. , we don’t want to see the mess of these services, and we want to make sure that whoever is leading the effort is truly grounded, practices and believes in it.”
Leon Smith, executive director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice, who worked with Glennon for years, said he was “shocked and disappointed” to learn of his dismissal.
“This dismissal marks the District Attorney’s Office moving away from research-backed practices that are best for both youth and public safety, and reexamining a failed approach that has repeatedly proven to have adverse consequences for young people. said to raise serious concerns.
Smith asked Hayden to release the office’s data on diversions as evidence of his promise to continue working toward juvenile law.
But some elected officials cautioned against viewing a single staffing change as signaling a broader change in policy.
Hayden “is committed to methods other than prosecution, especially in the case of juveniles, and no personnel decisions or results can affect it,” said the South Boston Democrat, who called Hayden a district attorney before the sentencing in September. State Senator Nick Collins, who endorsed the 6 Primary Election.
Lydia Edwards, a Democrat from East Boston who also endorsed Hayden, stressed that “just because someone dies doesn’t mean the program will go with them.”
Edwards also confirmed her belief in Hayden’s commitment to diversion, pointing to his recent additional $400,000 investment in the Office’s Service-Over-Sentences program launched under the Rollins administration. The initiative focuses on providing social services to people suffering from substance use disorders and housing insecurity instead of prosecution and imprisonment.
Zakarin said she hopes the agency will maintain a sincere commitment to youth diversion based on the lived experiences of those most affected. emphasized An office willing to “listen to what they think needs to be done” and willing to “default to care and concern as opposed to young people’s cancer reactions.”
Ivy Scott can be reached at ivy.scott@globe.com. follow her on her twitter @itivyscott.