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Crime & Safety

Peer Jury Gives First Time Juvenile Offenders a Second Chance

The first installment in an ongoing series about how Village services and programs operate.

This is the first installment in an ongoing series of articles about the different services the Village of Western Springs and its various departments offer to the community.

Since October of 1997, first time juvenile offenders in Western Springs have been given a second chance through the police department’s  Juvenile Peer Jury, an alternative to juvenile court.

Spearheaded by the police department’s Juvenile Officers and adult coordinators, the Peer Jury consists of a revolving pool of 40 members. The third Thursday of every month, a panel of eight jurors listens to four new cases and four follow-up cases.

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“The Peer Jury provides a diversion for first time offenders from entering the Juvenile Justice System by recognizing that their behavior can potentially be corrected through balanced and restorative justice,” explains Sergeant John Piest , who oversees the Jury. “This is done by the offender being accepted into the program only after admitting guilt and showing a willingness to give back to the community for his or her actions.”

The Jury Process

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Arresting Officers can recommend an offender be sent to the Peer Jury. The offender is then screened by school resource officers who determine if the subject is a suitable candidate by conducting a background check and interviewing the offender and hi or her parents. If the offender is deemed suitable, a contract is signed by the  offender to participate in the program and a hearing date is set.

According to Piest, the Peer Jury hears only non-violent and non-gang related cases. Typical crimes heard are Consumption/Possession of Alcohol by a Minor, Possession of Cannabis, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Curfew violations, Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Damage to Property, but all eligible cases are considered.

“After hearing a case, the jurors have complete control over sentencing,  within statutorily prescribed guidelines,” reports Piest. “The Civilian Coordinators will help guide them to a decision at times but typically the Police personnel are only there to clarify statutes and elements of the offenses.”

Offenders can be “sentenced” to write a paper related to their offense, write a letter of apology, refrain from contact with a specific person, or refrain from entering designated geographical area (for property crimes only).  They are also often assigned to do community service, working with local organizations including, Southwest Suburban Center on Aging, , Center for Independence through Conductive Education, the , the Community Nurse Health Association,  Friends of the Library and the . They  are also expected to attend school with no tardiness or unexcused absences, and abide by curfew. 

Maia Whalen of Western Springs serves as a civilian coordinator.

“As a volunteer coordinator, I am responsible for contacting local agencies that can be a resource for sending our offenders to do community service,” says Whalen.  “I am responsible for following up with both the offender and the agency where they do their community service to make sure it gets completed satisfactorily, and for  supervising the jurors at the hearing and helping them come to an appropriate decision regarding sentencing.”

Whalen became involved with the Peer Jury, because she used to work with teenagers at an alternative school as a social worker and therapist.

“Teens are very fascinating, as a group.  They are on the course of developing into adults, yet they still have a very recent experience of childhood,” says Whalen.  “They generally have a very open outlook on life.  Teens’ brains are not fully developed and while expected to meet very adult expectations and responsibilities, and facing very adult issues, they don’t always make the best decisions.  They make mistakes.  How many of us adults can remember doing stupid things when we were teens without considering the consequences?

“With the Peer Jury program, kids with bright futures are allowed to have a second chance if they make a mistake.  It helps these kids turn a negative into a positive.  They can learn how their mistakes affect not only themselves but their community and can give back to the community in the process.  The kids who serve on the jury have the opportunity to witness what happens when teens make mistakes, perhaps helping them to make good choices,  and they have the opportunity to exercise their developing sense of justice and fairness in determining punishments for the offenders.”

Is the system working?

“While exact numbers are not available there is a very low recidivism rate among offenders who have gone through the program,” says Piest. “That in itself tells me the program works.”

Since the program is only available to first time offenders, repeat offenders are a rare. Piest reports that special circumstances may be considered from time to time for a repeat offender if the previous offense was and it was not heard by the Peer Jury. 

Past offenders have continued volunteering for social service agencies long after their sentence has been completed and others have received job offers from the agencies upon completion of their sentence.

Jury Selection

To sit on the jury, jurors are required to be 13-17 years of age and must either live or attend school  in Western Springs, or attend eitheror Nazareth.  After filling out an application, they are interviewed by civilian volunteer coordinators prior to being allowed to be jurors.  Past offenders are also allowed to be jurors after completing their sentence and if they have no Police Contact for six months.

“In advance of each hearing the jurors are informed who the offenders for the evening will be ,” says Piest. “They must remove themselves from the hearing room if there is even the remotest possibility that they know the offender.”

Danny Caplice, a sophomore at LT, recently joined the Peer Jury.

“I believe Peer Jury is important because it allows for teens like me to get a glimpse of how our government and legal system works,” reports Caplice. "It gives good kids who made a bad decision a second chance and allows them to right their mistakes. If you are interested in getting involved in our community with a program that helps other teens, you should apply.”

The Peer Jury accepts student applications on an ongoing basis. Interested parties can pick up an application at the Western Springs Police Department.  They are also currently looking for more local places in the Western Springs, La Grange and Countryside areas, to send our offenders for community service. Any interested parties can contact Maia Whalen at maiawha9@comcast.net.

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