Youths on Wrong Side of the Law for First Time Get a Second Chance

In November, 15-year-old James warily watched while a friend squeezed through the window of Chollas Elementary School and, once inside, removed a locked door from its hinges.

The two were playing sandlot football alongside the building with other youngsters when someone suggested breaking in and stealing some soft drinks. James and his friend were arrested when they were identified as the culprits by another youngster.

Today, James is doing time, but not in the usual way.

He is in the San Diego Police Department’s Juvenile Intervention Program, which diverts first-time offenders from the county’s juvenile justice system.

In the program, youngsters like James must complete a 600-word essay entitled “The Consequences of My Acts,” and perform 24 hours of community work, ranging from washing police cars to painting homes of the elderly. They also attend counseling sessions, sometimes accompanied by their parents, if requested by program directors.

Police, probation and juvenile court officials are happy with the program, which they say helped to eliminate the haphazard way juvenile offenders were treated before the program began in 1982.

“We didn’t monitor and keep track of the number of kids that came through the juvenile system (for minor offenses),” said Juvenile Court Judge Napoleon Jones. He said that, before the program began, minor offenses were often ignored by police, probation officers and the courts, allowing youths to commit numerous offenses before they had to face the consequences of their actions.

Police Lt. Bill Campbell, who helped start the program, said that 7,074 youths have participated so far. “That’s 7,000 kids that nothing would have happened to,” he said. Of the 7,074, only 3% were rearrested in a year’s time.

The low percentage of rearrests surprised most juvenile authorities since most predicted that recidivism could only be cut by 50%.

“I think that it is good for him,” James’ mother said of the program. “It might make him think before he does something. It will help him in the long run.”

Youths eligible for the program are those who have committed misdemeanor offenses. They are given the option of participating in the program or being put under the jurisdiction of the county’s Probation Department.

Youngsters who select the program fill out contracts outlining the duties of their six-month probation. The duties may range from doing homework to helping with household chores.

Youths who have a brush with the law within a year of their initial arrest are sent to the Probation Department, where punishment is based on both offenses.

Thomas Pautler, county probation administrator, said that about 8,000 juveniles were referred to the county for probation in 1985.

Catching “the kids just on the edge of going into delinquency” is the key to the intervention program’s success, according to Pautler, because it is often the fringe cases who, when dealt with correctly, move on to lead productive lives.

“I help them, not punish them, even though what they do may seem like punishment,” said Donald Sada, who runs the San Diego police central division’s intervention program, which deals with youths from Logan Heights, downtown San Diego and Golden Hills.

Sada said that participants must work three weekend shifts where they do “anything to help the community.” Cleaning up along bus routes, painting out graffiti and helping food donation agencies package food are among some of the duties, he said.

Last year, 320 juveniles went through Sada’s program. Only nine were rearrested.

Officers in the intervention program “have to want to do it,” Campbell said. Officers chosen for the program have been with the department an average of 10 years. They are given a 40-hour training course and receive guidance from the Police Department’s in-house psychologist on counseling techniques.

“With each one of them (the youngsters), I have to develop some type of rapport or I’m useless,” Sada said. “If there is someone who cares and takes the time to show them what they are doing is wrong” they will show improvement, he said.

A recent study by the San Diego Assn. of Governments showed that about 72% of the program’s participants were male and white. About 50% were 14 or 15 years of age, and almost a third (32%) were 16 or 17. Eighteen percent were 13 and under.

Thirty-two percent of the youths had been arrested for possession of marijuana. Other offenses included petty theft (22%), vandalism (20%) and possession of alcohol (8%).

Police statistics show that 8,400 youths were arrested in 1984 on all categories of offenses; 8,379 were arrested in 1983; 9,260 in 1982 and 10,856 in 1981. Total arrest figures for 1985 are not yet available.