Gina Riley of the Sweet Home Police Department intends to have a new Peer Court program running by fall.
Working as the department’s peer court coordinator, she met with interested teens at the department on Thursday to introduce them to the program.
Linn County Juvenile Department operated a peer court in five locations throughout the county, including Sweet Home, until last year when it was cut from the budget. SHPD is funding the program now.
Sweet Home High School sophomore Matthew Long was among 13 who have applied to serve on the Peer Court already.
The volunteer position helps meet his career-related field requirements at school, he said. “I’ve always been interested in the court system, and I like to work with people.”
He has been in court before when his brother was a witness in a criminal case, he said. He enjoys the stability and organization of the legal system. It reminds him of military life.
After graduation, he plans to join the military and become a helicopter pilot, he said.
The program is modeled on regular courts, but it is used only for sentencing as a diversion program. First-time juvenile offenders, ages 11 to 17, who admit their guilt are eligible to appear before a peer court. Typically, once they have completed the terms of their sentence with the peer court, the record of their offense is expunged.
Typical offenses appearing before Peer Court are non-violent misdemeanors, such as theft, minor in possession of alcohol or tobacco, trespass, criminal mischief and maybe some simple assaults.
“It’s a second chance,” Riley said. “However, if you mess up, you go back to square one.”
Parental consent is required for a youth to appear in peer court, Riley said. “This isn’t easy for the parent either. They have to jump through the hoops with their child.”
“We put a lot of the burden on parents to do their jobs,” said Bill Jordan, county supervising juvenile probation officer.
Volunteer judges, presenters, defenders, bailiffs, clerks run the courtroom, while jurors ultimately decide what sanctions to impose on the offender, who always has the option of going through the usual Juvenile Department process, losing the advantages of appearing before the peer court.
For the non-offenders, Peer Court is a way to learn about the court system and practice skills, such as standing up and speaking, Riley said. It also connects the volunteers to law enforcement and criminal justice personnel and their peers and families.
The programs may use professional adult volunteers as judges, Riley said. Her eventual goal is to have the entire peer court run by student volunteers, ages 13 to 18.
“Statistics prove the earlier we can connect with the offender, the better,” Riley said. Recidivism rates for juveniles going through peer court range around 10 percent.
In Sweet Home, the recidivism rate was about 7.8 percent among 83 referrals to the Peer Court in the 2007-08 fiscal year, Jordan said. Countywide, in 2007-08, the county had 366 referrals. About 12 reoffended.
Peer court sentencing can include a variety of options, Riley said, but all sentences must include three hours of community service and service as a juror. Sentences can also include oral or written apologies, essays, restitution, anger management and property offender classes, drug and alcohol assessments and peer mediation.
Riley is looking for a group of about 25 youths. Thirteen have applied so far, and she has had six inquiries. This summer, they will take a field trip to the Santiam Peer Court in Stayton in July and attend a mock trial in August, with training along the way and peer court convening in the fall.
So far, Sweet Home is the only Linn County community to bring back Peer Court, Jordan said. Officials in Lyons were talking about it, but “Sweet Home is the only community that really stepped up. Any kind of a community-based program serves the community better.”
He believes strongly in working at the community level and making a difference for children, he said. “I think you can make a difference if you treat them reasonably and hold them accountable. It’s not only dealing with kids that are in trouble, but we’re giving our volunteer kids a tremendous opportunity.”
The program has worked well in the past because great people worked in it, specifically Cindy Rice in Sweet Home, Jordan said. “Unfortunately, we had to make some tough decisions last year and tougher decisions this year.”