THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407150255
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Smart. That's what it is for the Suffolk Sheriff's Department to join the ranks of those putting juvenile offenders to work to pay for their transgressions.
As many citizens see it, juveniles - and adults too, for that matter - too often leave the justice system with a pat - not a slap - on the wrist. And for young people, especially, that sometimes gives the message that punishment that light doesn't even motivate a change in behavior.
The Sheriff's Department now oversees juvenile offenders who, as their sentence or part of their sentence, must perform community service. They wash the cars of police officers and other city employees, a service that saves taxpayers dollars.
It also means that the juveniles, not their parents, are the ones obligated. The courts realize that, in many cases, imposing a fine just means punishing the parents, and they're not the wrongdoers.
With community service, the juveniles learn to take responsibility: to appear on the job at specified times, to meet the standards of their supervisors and, most importantly, to understand that crime brings punishment.
The car-washing detail takes place each Tuesday, when court parking lots have the most police vehicles. Other city vehicles also may be brought to the recreation area of the old city jail for cleaning.
It is the latest addition to the community-service venues. Other public-service agencies also utilize the juveniles, who have been convicted of relatively minor infractions and screened for suitability.
For instance, a juvenile convicted for the first time of destroying property might be sentenced to 20 hours of public service at a nursing home. A running record is kept by supervisors, who report it to courts.
While we applaud Sheriff Raleigh H. Isaacs for this innovation, we also must ask if work-release programs are used to maximum potential at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail, which is supervised by an administrator. With an average 430 occupants, it surely must have more people who would volunteer for public-service jobs than its small road-cleanup crews.
Taxpayers also pay for jails, and putting their occupants to work is more desirable than having them waste time in cells.
With Suffolk juvenile offenders learning that they must pay for crimes, in this instance with public service, the hope is that fewer of them will commit deeds that land them in jail. If you think your agency might qualify for these public-service workers, call James Gordon, supervisor of Juvenile Court Services at 925-6436.
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY SERVICE
JUVENILE OFFENDERS JUVENILE DELINQUENTS
by CNB