Those who could not attend our meeting on juvenile diversion programs missed a great opportunity to learn how our juvenile justice system works.
There was so much information — and such a great need for citizen engagement — the league created a web page to help you get involved. Please take a moment to find out what you can do to help put our most vulnerable kids on the path to becoming productive adults and citizens.
While diversion programs are more effective than incarceration, when it comes to rehabilitating juvenile offenders and decreasing recidivism, the most effective program of all is currently under-used in our county.
I'm referring to civil citations, which divert first-time juvenile misdemeanor offenders from the juvenile justice system. Youths who receive civil citations must complete community service hours — assigned by law enforcement officers — and may be ordered to complete other sanctions, like restitution to the victim, counseling, and letters of apology. If the offender does not fulfill requirements levied by the citation, the charges are reactivated and prosecution is pursued.
A 2014 Department of Juvenile Justice review concluded that civil citation youths had significantly better outcomes than youths who were eligible but were taken into custody and diverted.
They also had a recidivism rate of only 4 percent compared to 9 percent for youths who completed diversion programs. The data clearly show that civil citation gives eligible youths the best opportunity to reform and avoid a juvenile record that could impair their adult prospects.
So why is civil citation used almost exclusively for offenses committed at school rather than in the community?
Because our school district has empowered school resource officers to use them, but our sheriff and local police chiefs have not endorsed them for use by their personnel outside school.
That means offenses committed at school or during school-sponsored events are usually punished using civil citations, while identical offenses committed in the community result in the juvenile being taken into custody and incurring a juvenile record.
I urge all concerned citizens to learn about the civil citation program and ask local leaders why they are not currently part of our local law enforcement community policing tool kit.
What's your view? Write a letter to the editor or tweet @cnbeditor.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Commentary: Here's the best way to rehabilitate Okaloosa's juvenile offenders