Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series looking at juvenile defendants and the court system.
The perpetrators are getting younger.
“The nature of offenses involving juvenile defendants has increased in numbers and severity,” District Attorney Ernie Lee said. “Juvenile court does not only have the relatively less serious offenses most familiar — vandalism, school fights, etc. — the cases now often involve robberies, sexual assaults and other serious offenses.
“It’s not just damaging a mailbox or fighting in school anymore.”
Lee said that at one time, the more serious offenses were generally only seen in Superior Court, but these offenses are now being committed by juveniles less than 16 years of age. However, the penalties look very different to minors 15 and under and those who are 16 and 17 years old.
According to N.C. state law, a 15-year-old is still considered a juvenile while a 16-year-old is considered an adult when it comes to criminal acts. The 15-year-old might be released to their parents and the 16-year-old could be processed, sent to Onslow County Jail and issued a bond.
“Sixteen and 17-year-olds are still considered juveniles according to every piece of law whether it be civil, the right to vote, contractual, etc.; but in North Carolina, you can arrest them and charge them as an adult,” Lt. Jason Bettis of the Jacksonville Police Department said.
And there are very different consequences for those in the juvenile court system compared to those tried as an adult. According to county officials, the juvenile system focuses on treatment while the adult system focuses on incarceration.
“A lot of times, (juveniles) don’t go to prison,” Bettis said. “They will be diverted into programs, sometimes even prior to getting into the court system.”
Early intervention is more effective for the youth and cost effective for the State, Jesse V. Riggs, Lead Area Consultant for the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Juvenile Justice, said. A youth in a YDC facility costs $100,000 a year to maintain.
A juvenile who commits a less serious, first-time offense, can be sent to youth court where they can be judged by their peers and given a sentence of community service and restitution, Karin Lucas, Youth Court Diversion Program director, explained. Once their sentence is carried out successfully, their record is wiped clean.
Juveniles who are not first time offenders end up in juvenile court, though many will see a treatment program or community service rather than jail time for their offenses.
According to Russell Turner of the Onslow County Chapter of the Department of Juvenile Justice, there are only six juveniles from Onslow County who are committed to a Youth Development Center, which is basically a jail for juveniles. There are currently 95 serving probation terms through community service and restitution.
“A large part of the focus of juvenile justice is changing behavior and turning kids around,” Riggs said. “It is a very focused treatment. The sooner we can intervene with youth and families, the better chance we have.”
Turner said that there are several community service projects that juveniles can be involved with, including the parks department and any non-profit like the soup kitchen and the animal shelter.
“If juveniles are placed in community programs, only 7 percent are likely to reoffend,” he said.
Assistant District Attorney Kaelyn Thompson said that while she does see recidivism, it is case by case.
“When youth court or community service doesn’t get the message across, then we have to see what will get the message across,” she said. “We like to get creative. It is not uncommon. On any given court calendar, I can see one I’ve seen before.”
Statistics from the JPD show that in 2011, the top three juvenile offenses in Jacksonville were larceny, conspiracy and undisciplined, which is a status charge, meaning only those under 18 can be charged with it (for example: curfew, truancy, and habitual runaway).
“The specific types of charges I see are almost directly related to the school months versus the summer months,” Thompson said. “Each school year brings an increase in charges for simple assault and disorderly conduct. When school lets out for the summer, the simple assaults and disorderly conducts move out of the way for larcenies and injury to personal property charges to run rampant.
“What does that say about idle hands? Charges stem largely from stolen bikes, skateboards, Nintendo DS game systems and iPods.”
When it comes to getting creative with juvenile sentences for less serious offenses, Thompson said there were several options before commitment to a YDC, the most typical being anywhere from six to 18 months of probation. They can also be ordered to do a minimum of 35 hours of community service and one hour of community service for every $5 they owe in restitution to a victim.
“We can institute a curfew,” Thompson said. “I like to see what a child responds to. Facebook is a big one. If you take away their Facebook, it tends to wake them up. They want their Facebook back.”
She also has juveniles write essays, especially when they are up for drug charges, so they can understand the long-term effects that those drugs will have on their body.
The biggest point these sentences are trying to get across is accountability.
“We make them issue apologies. It may seem counterintuitive to force someone to apologize, but if you put someone into that mindset of realizing that they hurt someone else, and they are held accountable for that, it becomes an important part of the process,” she said.
Of course, there are some charges are more serious and have to be treated that way, Turner said — charges like serious assault, serious drug charges, rape and murder.
When it comes to any offense, especially a serious offense, the court must take into account not only the safety of the child, but also of the community when deciding on a sentence, Tracy Arrington of the NC DPS Department of Juvenile Justice said.
D.A. Lee said that a 13, 14 or 15-year-old who does commit a serious offense like murder, can be bound over to Superior Court and tried as an adult after going through a process.
For those who are 16 and 17 in North Carolina, the law is very clear cut: They are charged as adults, Lee said. While there is the option of deferred prosecution, where first-time offenders can comply with a probationary sentence and then have charges dismissed and expunged, many of these minors will be sent through District or Superior Courts and judged just as harshly as their adult counterparts.
“For adults, the system is typically focused on punishment and retribution,” Bettis said. “It is about paying for what they have done.”
Det. Sgt. John Getty of the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office said 16 and 17-year-olds are placed in the county jail.
“The majority of what we’re seeing is teens who have dropped out of the eighth or ninth grade. They have no job, and they’re not getting their GED,” Getty said.
However, Getty and Bettis emphasized that that crime is not limited to a socio-economic status. It can be any child, anywhere at any time.
“Parents and family need to stay in the forefront of shaping children,” Bettis said.
The decisions 16 and 17-year-old make can follow them for the rest of their lives.
“I know it is hard for kids to do this, but they need to think farther than today,” Bettis said. “Think beyond today about what you want to do later in life and if this is the right decision to get you to the spot you want to be at in the future.”
Contact Daily News Reporter Tabitha Clark at 910-219-8454 orTabitha.Clark@jdnews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @TabithaLClark or friend her on Facebook.