Guest MINDSETTER™ John Tassoni Jr: Every City & Town Should Have an Active Juvenile Hearing Board

Guest MINDSETTER™ John Tassoni Jr: Every City & Town Should Have an Active Juvenile Hearing Board

A 15-year-old female is caught stealing a large amount of makeup from a local department store and is arrested.

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.

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These 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.