by Stephanie Pankiw
The Lawrence Township Police Department received a grant in the amount of $54,309 on December 20, 2007 from the state of New Jersey to set up educational programs in conjunction with the township’s Stationhouse Adjustment program. It is hoped that the Stationhouse Adjustment program will keep children out of the judicial system and stop the cycle of crime. The educational program will help to keep the juveniles on track by having them enrolled in the program that focuses on positive activities. At this time the police department is looking to work with PEI Kids, Chief Daniel Posluszny said.
The Stationhouse Adjustment program is a program available in all police departments in the state of New Jersey.The program enables a police department to handle minor offenses committed by local juveniles.
“The grant will allow us to use alternative means for handling juveniles in non-violent criminal acts, that may be better served staying out of the court system,” Chief Daniel Posluszny said.
Before the Stationhouse Adjustment Program, any juvenile charged with a crime would be sent to the County Prosecutor’s Office and the matter would be handled through the court system. This would mean that the juvenile would have a record, and after the juvenile dealt with the punishment, nothing would be done to try to prevent the juvenile from committing another crime. Handling the matter with the Stationhouse Adjustment program provides for immediate restitution and consequences as opposed to a lengthy court process which may not be completed for months after the crime has been committed.
The Stationhouse Adjustment program handles juvenile crimes locally. The other alternative would be for the matter to be handled through the Mercer County Court system. The program calls for both the juvenile charged and a parent or guardian to report to the station. The officer discusses the crime and punishments with the offender and asks for assurance from the parent or guardian that the offense won’t happen again. The most common punishments for the offenders are community service and restitution.
The crimes eligible for the Stationhouse Adjustment program are petty disorderly persons violations, disorderly persons offenses, and ordinance violations. However, victims always have the right to sign a complaint if they don’t agree with the crime being handled through the Stationhouse Adjustment program.
Crimes involving drugs, bias, sexual offenses, crimes involving serious injury, and third degree offenses may also be handled through the Stationhouse Adjustment Program if the County Prosecutor thinks it is appropriate.
If the juveniles have no record, it is believed that they will work harder to keep it that way. The Township of Lawrence hopes to add an educational program to the Stationhouse Adjustment program so that they can further educate the youth on the consequences of crime.
PEI Kids has a Juvenile Offenders Outreach Program (JOOP), one of the six intervention programs offered by PEI, which provides a twelve week course for juvenile offenders that offers an alternative to jail. The program was originally created for auto theft offenses. Since the program turned out such positive results and there was such a great demand, it expanded to include all juvenile offenses.
Participants in the program are exposed to positive influences in an encouraging environment. The program directors teach the juveniles different skills that can help them avoid conflict and other dangerous situations. The juveniles are also encouraged to finish high school and are pushed to remain in school or re-enroll if they have already dropped out.
According to the PEI Kids website, most participants in their program do not re-enter the criminal justice system. The recidivism rate for those who completed the program is more than twenty-five percent lower than those who were sentenced in the court system.
Chief Posluszny said he is very excited to begin working with PEI Kids in an effort to lower the chances of incarceration for at risk-kids. His hope is that with the help of the program, he won’t have to see the same faces walk into his police station more than once.
