Teen Crisis Intervention and Juvenile Crime
Teen crisis intervention that spares a troubled teenager a juvenile record is to be encouraged. Though offenses during youth are not to be used against the adult teen, the record will remain and can impinge on school or career choices in the future.
As usual, the program developed in one small town is home grown. Devised by the community in response to growing juvenile crime - crime which inevitably leads to more severe offenses if not nipped in the bud. It is an example of what pro-active parents can initiate with the co-operation from their local churches, community groups and city officials.
Relevant Tags:comunity efforts, criminal charges, juvenile crime, juvenile record, pro active parents, teen crisis intervention, teen crisis, troubled teenager“Teens in Durham are being offered a second chance — a chance that not only keeps them out of the courts but gives them an opportunity to give back to the community.
It’s all thanks to a new policing program designed to get to the root cause of youth crime and get kids the help they need before it’s too late.
“Basically, if we catch say a 15-year-old who has broken a window at a church, we look at it and decide whether it would be better to try some alternative justice rather than pursue criminal charges,” Durham Regional Police spokesman Dave Selby explained.
“In such a case, we might instead sit the kid down with his or her parents, the minister of the church, and, with the help of a professional facilitator, discuss in a calm, rational environment how the youth’s actions affected everybody involved,” Selby said.
It’s being tried by other police services across the country and Durham cops began to “really pushing it hard” in January.”
Teen Crisis Intervention