2009 MetLife Awards: Riverside Youth Court Program
Date Published: 12/02/2009
Author: Lauren
Volunteer Center of Riverside County & Riverside Police Department
2008 MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Special Strategy Award for Gang Prevention & Youth Safety
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The Riverside Youth Court is a restorative justice program for first-time juvenile offenders. The program is designed to provide youth a second chance to stem criminal behavior by early corrective action while providing education about the juvenile justice system. Cases dealing with misdemeanor crimes that have been committed by youth between the ages of 10 and 16 are referred directly to the court from the Riverside Police Department, Riverside County Probation Department and Riverside and Alvord Unified School Districts. In this model, an adult judge presides over the court while youth serve as prosecuting and defense attorneys, court clerks, bailiffs and jurors. Dispositions include community service, educational workshops, counseling, restitution, drug testing, curfew restriction, behavior contracts and additional creative approaches. The Volunteer Center of Riverside County plays a major role in the youth court process by providing community service placements and monitoring. The center also provides a structured, educational program through its Teen Education Mentoring Program Option (TEMPO). This program provides tours of trauma centers, juvenile hall and the county jail. Since 2004, over 850 youth from the city have been trained as youth court volunteers and over 630 juvenile offenders have participated in the program. The program has seen increased community involvement and has been recognized for the remarkably low recidivism rate (7.6%) among youth who complete the program.
Topic: --Community Safety
Type: Case study / model practice