I think most people if given a review of the current juvenile justice system would agree that it is not only counter productive to its purpose but it is also costly in more ways than the obvious. There is good reason to reject this system and some States and Counties have recognized that need as well. McCullum Youth Court program in Oakland Ca. is among several across the country which is seen as an alternative to a juvenile justice system that has been proven to fail first time offenders. Society also pays the price by not getting the reformed individual that we're paying for. Some 65% of youth that go through the current juvenile system in Alameda County end up returning there and 91% State wide (Ca.) are rearrested within 3yrs.

McCullum Youth Court is a diversionary program for first time offenders that offers an alternative to the traditional bang head against wall juvenile justice system. It seeks to divert first time offenders from a life of crime that could have otherwise been avoided with proper intervention. "When a youth under the age of 18 has committed a minor, first time offense, such as battery, bringing a toy gun to school, or getting caught with marijuana, police departments in Alameda Co. can help the offender avoid a criminal record by sending him directly to M.Y.C. Instead of undergoing a traditional trial, the offender goes before a jury of past youth offenders. The bailiffs, clerks, prosecutors, and defense attorneys are all youths, too." The offenders are held accountable by having them face the judgment of their peers. The jury consists of all former offenders. "The program holds that when wayward adolescents take on the responsibility of judging others who have made mistakes similar to their own, they gain a sense of self worth while reevaluating the consequences of their own actions."

"Rachelle Distefano became the first director of the Law Academy at McClymonds High School...Distefano managed to engage them to speak at city council meetings. But the students wanted more. "we want to do something real, " she recalled them saying." After hearing about similar programs in San Francisco M.Y.C. was born fifteen years ago. Verleana Green is one of the programs first participants. She says it gave her a serious wake up call. Verleana is now a practicing attorney. "McCullum Youth Court serves around 450 youth offenders a year. So does it work? A study of a similar program in Lane County, Oregon re vealed that, after three years, 81% of participants had kept their records clean while only a little more than 60% had avoided arrest in a comparable group of offender who did not go through the program. Other national studies show similarly high rates of success."

Given the fact that medical brain scans now prove that adolescents indeed are not the cognitive equals of adults as our justice system would have us falsely believe and given the fact that our current system ads insult to injury, an injury we can ill afford any longer.....Are we now convinced that things need to change like yesterday?

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/rethinking_juvenile_justice/Content?o...