Alternative Sentencing (Teen Court)

T or C/Sierra County DWI Prevention Program

Alternative Sentencing (Teen Court)

Teen Court has been an asset to the community since the beginning of the DWI program. Our Teen Court was the pilot program and is an ongoing alternative for our youth at risk. Teen courts, also known as youth or peer courts, are considered one of the fastest growing juvenile prevention and intervention programs in the country. They are rapidly gaining popularity as an alternative to juvenile justice and are considered a primary diversion option for young offenders in the juvenile justice system. Teen courts offer an adjudicatory venue in which nonviolent and, usually, first-time juvenile offenders are sentenced by their peers. Teen courts are generally used for younger juveniles (ages 10 to 15), those with no prior arrest records, and those charged with less-serious law violations (e.g., shoplifting, vandalism, or disorderly conduct). Typically, young offenders are offered teen court as a voluntary alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system. In teen courts, youths charged with an offense can forgo the formal hearing and sentencing procedures of juvenile courts and participate in a sentencing forum made up of a jury of their peers. These courts offer youth the opportunity to learn valuable life lessons and coping skills while promoting positive peer influence for the youth defendants and volunteers, who play a variety of roles in teen court. In October 2000, Jeffrey Butts and Janeen Buck stated in “Teen Courts: A Focus on Research” that many jurisdictions report that teen court increases young offenders’ respect for the justice system and reduces recidivism by holding delinquent youth accountable for what is often their first offense. They further state that a teen court may be able to act more quickly and more efficiently than a traditional juvenile court. In subsequent research by Jeffrey Butts in April 2002, the rate of recidivism for juveniles in teen court was compared with that of similar youth handled by the regular juvenile justice system. He found that in three out of the four youth courts studies, the six-month recidivism rate for youth court was lower than that of the comparison group. Mr. Butts further states that the findings of this project indicate that teen courts may be preferable to the normal juvenile justice process in jurisdictions that do not, or cannot, provide meaningful sanctions for all young, first-time offenders. And in jurisdictions that do provide meaningful sanctions and services for these offenders, youth court may still perform just as well as a more traditional adult-run program. Teen courts are a positive diversionary alternative for juvenile first-time offenders. On June 9, 2002, the Executive Committee of the American Probation and Parole Association adopted a resolution in support of the formation and expansion of youth court programs. At the very least, this promising approach to juvenile justice creates an improved perception of justice by our young people, fosters the ability of teens to learn from their mistakes because of early intervention, and educates them about the judicial process.

As we have no other juvenile service other than JPPO in our community Teen Court is the only alternative, because of the increase in alcohol related incidents at our schools and the on going truancy problem our teen court administrator has been working very close with the Schools, JPPO and the courts to offer programs in conjunction with teen court as an alternative in the community. Funding of Teen Court is seen as a necessary and meaningful program by our Task Force.