Guest MINDSETTER™ John Tassoni Jr: Every City & Town Should Have an Active Juvenile Hearing Board
Thursday, October 08, 2015
A 15-year-old female is caught stealing a large amount of makeup from a local department store and is arrested.
.png)
What happens now? Will she become entangled in the Family Court system and become another statistic? Not if she lives in Smithfield or Johnston.
Rather than sending first-time offenders under 18, who are charged with violating criminal laws - wayward, misdemeanor, status offenses and violations of Smithfield or Johnston ordinances - to Family Court, they may be referred by the towns’ police chiefs to the Regional Juvenile Hearing Board.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThese crimes are usually cases of assault, school fights, bullying, and malicious acts such as destroying or defacing property. These acts may seem like kid stuff but they can carry serious ramifications.
Regional Juvenile Hearing Board
The board was established in 1986 to eliminate the backlog in Family Court, but more importantly, it gives the offenders a second chance to get on the right track.
I sit on this seven-member board that meets at the Tri-Town Community Action Agency on Hartford Avenue in Johnston. The meetings are closed to the public and all information is confidential.
Going in Front of the Board
Prior to appearing before the hearing board, the offenders are instructed to wear proper attire, act in a respectable manner, and most of all, to lose the “know-it-all” attitude. They must bring their last report card and be accompanied by a parent. It comes as no surprise that most of these offenders come from single parent homes. An extended family member often attends with the teen.
Each board member takes a turn asking the offender questions. Some of the offenders cry. We don’t discourage crying because it helps them to realize their mistakes and to tell the truth. It is a cleansing process of sorts.
When the questioning is complete, the offender must leave the room so the board members can deliberate privately.
The Result of the Hearing
Most teens expect to receive community service, but they also get something that they did not expect – a lesson in respect, responsibility and commitment to help them succeed academically and socially, and to make better choices.
We let the sanction fit the crime in a way that will also teach a valuable life lesson. The teen may be referred to classroom instruction or a combination of classroom instruction and on-site observation, as well as community service.
In the classroom, police officers may teach the offenders about the law. Doctors may explain injuries. Social workers talk about lives destroyed. Offenders may be brought face-to-face with victims or perpetrators of drunk driving.
On-site, they may spend a Friday evening at a hospital emergency room, and work with a police officer, a social worker, or the emergency trauma staff.
Sometimes there are underlying causes for the crime. The offender may also suffer from substance abuse or other mental conditions. We offer assistance in these matters as well. And arrange for them to get the help they need.
Not all crimes are intended criminal acts. For example, a teen may be lighting a campfire or fire pit in the backyard that gets out of control, so the teen simply needs a lesson in fire safety.
We are an all-volunteer, unpaid board, appointed by the mayor of Johnston or Smithfield’s town manager. Our reward is seeing these teens go on to become responsible citizens. If we don’t do our job properly, many will continue on a destructive path and eventually end up at the ACI.
Ironically, when we ask the teens what they want to do in life, many respond that they would like to have a career in law enforcement, or as a fire fighter, and even join the military. We explain that their crimes could deter them from that goal and become part of their criminal record.
So, what happened to the young lady that stole the makeup?
She had to purchase groceries that equaled the dollar amount of stolen makeup and donate them to a local food bank. Her punishment taught her much more than stealing is wrong.
Troubled teens are not a new phenomenon, but the way the Smithfield/Johnston Regional Juvenile Hearing Board deals with them is undeniably unique. Only a handful of cities and towns in the state have a Juvenile Hearing Board. If every city and town did, then maybe the ACI wouldn’t be so crowded.
John J. Tassoni Jr. is a former senator (D-Smithfield), radio talk show host, publisher of Common Ground newspaper and The Smithfield Times magazine, and a community activist and advocate.
Related Slideshow: Providence’s Most Violent Neighborhoods
Each week, the Providence Police Department releases its "Weekly Crime Comparison Report" on its website. The breakdown covers how many crimes have occured in the past week, past month, and year to date in each Police District and comparing them with the same time interval from the year prior, reflecting changes in crime rates. GoLocal has distilled the key data points from this weeks report to reflect YTD crime data grouped by general category- violent, property, other, and total. For the full report as filed by the PPD, click here.
Related Articles
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Berwick: A Healthcare Reform Plan That Works For Everyone
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Art Norwalk: Should We Swing at the PawSox Owners’ Next Pitch?
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Tom Kenney: Providence Leadership
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Rep. John Edwards: The RI Blood Center - Giving You The Chance to Save a Life
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Berwick: The Charter School Problem
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Berwick: The Best Deal for RI Taxpayers is to Keep PawSox in Pawtucket
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Anne Grant: Fix DCYF Dysfunction and Stop Family Law Malpractice
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Berwick: Looking Back at Nixon’s Resignation 41 Years Ago
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Tom Kenney: Show Me the Money! Show Me the Savings!
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Berwick: Repairing and Replacing RI’s Structurally Deficient Bridges
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ John Loughlin: PawSox Listening Tour? Listen to This!
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ John J. Tassoni Jr: The Workers’ Voice Fades Without Union Representation
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Joe Clifford: RI Congressional Delegation - Profiles in Courage or Empty Suits?
- Guest MINDSETTER™ John Tassoni Jr: Recovery Radio Brings Help to Those Struggling With Addiction
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Sen. Juan M. Pichardo: Standing Up For Communities of Color
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Ken Block: Understanding and Fixing What Went Wrong With 38 Studios
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Tom Kenney: Fire Service Clowns
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Nancy Thomas: Discover Beautiful Rhode Island
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Tony Santos: Lally, Cicilline, and Raimondo - Follow the Breadcrumbs
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Tom Kenney: How the Mighty Have Fallen
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Jenn Steinfeld: Women and the Right to Vote
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Tony Santos: High Crimes & Misdemeanors, Mayor Allan Fung’s Fall From Honor
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Berwick: Tolling Not Needed
- Guest MINDSETTER ™ Chris Westerkamp: The Trump Show - A Guilty Pleasure
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Jennifer Wall: Are We Doing Enough to Protect Youth From Tobacco Addiction?
