The Benefits of Community Court in Santa Clarita

Of the many things that frighten the parents of teens, perhaps the biggest is being told by the police that your child is being held for committing criminal acts. This is a reality for a lot of families throughout the Santa Clarita Valley area – suddenly being called upon to deal with an unexpected crisis. At most times, the juvenile is scared, embarrassed, and usually very sorry. Regardless of any remorse, the teen now has to come face to face with the criminal judicial system.

When an adolescent is arrested for non-violent crimes like shoplifting, truancy, curfew violations, tagging, alcohol or drug possession, or other offenses that are considered minor, his or her case will be handled very seriously. Typically, there will be a hearing at juvenile hall in Sylmar, where, accompanied by a lawyer, the juvenile will stand before a judge, who will then mandate the offender to spend time in juvenile hall, pay restitution, perform community service, or pay very large fines. A criminal record will follow the youth for the remainder of his or her life, and any mistakes that occur during the probation period will land this youngster right back at juvenile hall.

The City of Santa Clarita understands that kids can make mistakes, but those mistakes should be punished severely even if it is only the first offense. In order to make them pay the consequences for their own actions, but at the same time giving them the tools that they will need to avoid repeating the same mistakes, the City of Santa Clarita has joined in a partnership with the Santa Clarita Sheriff's Department and also William S. Hart Union High School to develop a diversion program called Community Court.

Rather than the normal juvenile hall scenario, teenagers who are first time offenders and who met other qualifications are sent to the Community Court. The Community Court will mandate a teen offender to appear before a volunteer judge, who is actually a local attorney, to talk about crime and the impact it will have on the victim and also the juvenile's family; there will also be a serious discussion about the results of the juvenile's behaviors.

Since every juvenile must be held responsible for their own behaviors, the volunteer judges will hand down sentences like removing graffiti, attending teen choice classes, completing traffic school, paying restitution, attending programs for alcohol rehabilitation, or visiting the Youth Grove Memorial. Juveniles are usually assigned essays covering a number of different topics; these essays are then given to the victims and the Sheriff's Department, as well as the juvenile's parents. In addition to a small fine, a teen's sentence may also include a brief probationary period, during which the juvenile is expected to carry good grades in school, start new activities to improve their growth, and avoid friends that may have influenced the youth's bad behaviors in the first place.

Once a teenager completes the probationary period, their legal record is expunged. He or she can honestly say 'no' when asked about having ever been convicted of a crime.

Santa Clarita and its Sheriff's department have seen a vast improvement in teenager crime rates since the Community Court program took effect in 2006. There have been fewer repeat offenders, better all-around behavior, and gratitude on the part of the teens in the community.

During the inception of the program, I was asked by the City of Santa Clarita to be a volunteer judge for the Santa Clarita Community Court. After looking at how this court operates and the advantages it offers youthful offenders, I was very proud to accept their appointment. It is a great experience to be able to give back to our wonderful community and help teenagers during a very important time of their lives. I am a firm believer that the right counseling and guidance is a much better avenue for first time offenders who have committed non-violent crimes. This program has demonstrated that the main goal of the Community Court is to improve our youth culture through forgiveness, while also holding teenagers accountable for their behaviors.