H.B. 48-Juvenile Fingerprints Bill, by Diana Ortega, Amy Novoa and Gaby Rodriguez

As the legislative session of 2011 began one particular bill brought up a lot of controversy, House Bill 48: Fingerprints of Juveniles. This bill requires the fingerprints and photographs of juveniles to be taken and stored if the juvenile is 14 or older and is suspected of being involved in gang activity or has committed a crime that would be a felony if it was committed by an adult.

This bill doesn't only concerns students, but parents as well. Blanca, a mother of West High students, expressed her concerns about this bill, "What would happen if the juvenile is undocumented? Would the juvenile be turned in to ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement), and how would it affect their family?" It is important to recognize the outcomes of this bill that could negatively affect undocumented people of Utah.

Melquiades Flores, a father of a West High student, also spoke out against this bill, saying, “It’s as if we are labeling our children as criminals.” When his 14 year old son was suspected of involvement in illegal activities he was fingerprinted, although he was underage. Flores acknowledges that his son's actions were wrong but he also felt that fingerprinting was not the proper precaution. He worries that morals are going down not only in the family environment but also in schools. “In your schools you no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance daily," he says, "fights break out in schools because of various reasons when we are all Americans. There should be more peace.”

Norman, a freshmen student from West high school, expressed his concerns and worries for this bill. He thought it was a waste of tax money. He says, "There are a lot of crimes being committed among juveniles that are uncontrollable, but instead of wasting tax money trying to get this bill passed they could fund schools to have more after school programs and activities. Programs that help reduce crime among the youth."

The cost of the bill, over the next two years, would be around $90,000. Principal Parley Jacobs and Police officer Lynman Smith of West High School thought the cost of this bill wasn't a concern. Neither of them said this bill would benefit the community, but they did think it would help find students who are committing crimes. Smith, who has work at West High for over a decade said, “Crime will never end.” However, we think this bill is a waste of tax money considering the education budget may be cut by 7 percent this year.