Homer Alaska - News

For defendants sent to District and Superior Court, almost everything goes on the public record: their charges, their court hearings and the eventual result of those cases.

For minors under 18, what does it mean when a charge goes to Juvenile Justice?

In Homer, Juvenile Justice is Ray Ortiz, the first juvenile probation officer to work here in 13 months. He moved to Homer in June after returning to Alaska from New York. (See related story)

Because most juvenile crimes remain confidential, the Office of Juvenile Justice can't talk in much detail about how that 15-year-old girl's offenses were prosecuted. Unless a case is moved to adult court, as for murder and other serious felonies, juvenile offenders usually won't be known.

"Unfortunately, the community doesn't know anything definitive," said Allison Gottesman, supervisor of the Office of Juvenile Justice, Kenai Division. "That's part of the confidentiality around the proceedings."

Not all juvenile offenses are kept confidential. In its wisdom, the Alaska Legislature has determined that for traffic offenses such as driving under the influence, driving without a license and minor consuming alcohol, juveniles go to district court and information about them and their charges becomes public.

Under Alaska Statutes, Juvenile Justice is required to disclose the names of offenders of some crimes, such as arson, first-degree burglary, sexual assault and felony assault. Though not tried in adult court, the names and crimes of those offenders become public.

"You would end up on our board," Gottesman said, referring to a clipboard at Juvenile Justice offices where those offenders' names and offenses are made public.

Beyond confidentiality, a key difference between adult and juvenile justice comes from the approach: punitive justice for adults versus restorative justice for juveniles. For juveniles, the state of Alaska seeks to correct delinquent behavior and keep offenders from breaking the law again.

"(Judges) want the best possible outcome," Gottesman said Allison. "They don't want to see these offenders as adults."

Restorative justice has three core values, Gottesman said: community protection, accountability and competency development. That means keeping towns safe, holding offenders responsible and giving offenders life skills to avoid committing crime in the future.

Unlike adult court, Juvenile Justice does both prosecution and probation. In adult court, district attorneys try cases and probation officers take over at the sentencing stage. In the restorative justice model, Juvenile Justice probation officers become social workers. The work with police and judges to enforce the law, but they also work with victims, families, schools and counselors.

"It really encompasses a holistic approach of looking at offenders," Gottesman said. "We're so much more than law enforcement. We have to be. There's no way we can do our jobs without being skilled in case management services."

"We are the family liaison and the big brother and big sister to all these kids," Ortiz said "We provide a way to navigate through the system."

Although juvenile charges aren't made public, from the start victims get involved. They have rights by law, too, like the right to be present at hearings involving juveniles. Juvenile Justice advocates for victims, too. If a juvenile is ordered to pay restitution, Juvenile Justice processes the claim and checks. If a letter of apology is ordered, they forward those to the victim, too. Disposition — the Juvenile Justice term for a judgment — can included community work service, too.

"The victim will always be compensated to the best of our ability," Gottesman said. "That is part of our mission."

The good news is that for cases referred to Juvenile Justice, 75 percent of them don't go to formal court. Through informal supervision, diversion programs, tribal circles, youth court and mediation, cases often get settled without the knock of a judge's gavel.

"Most of the kids who get informal supervision aren't really bad," Ortiz said. "They just made mistakes. They just made poor choices."

The Kenai Peninsula Youth Court has been highly successful, with only 4 percent of juveniles sent there re-offending. In Youth Court, youth peers administer justice. Cases that go to Youth Court might be something like shoplifting.

"I think being judged and counseled by your peers may have more effect than going through (Ray's) office and having intake," Gottesman said.

Sometimes, victims are willing to go to mediation with offenders, Gottesman said.

"You have to be willing to say, 'This is what you did to my house, my family,'" she said. "Some people just want to hear them say, 'I'm sorry.'"

For the state fiscal year of July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, 53 cases and 96 charges were referred to Juvenile Justice. Some of those were repeat offenders, with 44 separate juveniles. Most of those cases were crimes against property (see chart, page x).

Serious offenses if convicted can result in detention at the Kenai Youth Facility or other statewide detention and treatment facilities. Detention reviews are held about every 30 days, and the probation office has the discretion to make a release.

After disposition, Ortiz or other probation officers monitors juveniles to make sure they follow terms of their probation. With probation office in town, that can mean closer supervision of offenders — and maybe more referrals if an offender violates the terms of probation.

"Ray can go knock on their door and call them up," Gottesman said. "We're better able to respond to the community if we have an officer in the community that we're representing."

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.