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Mayor A C Wharton recently launched an innovative plan to redirect the lives of juveniles in our community. OSC leaders, Director Larry Godwin and Judge Curtis Person, are partnering up along with Mayor Wharton to offer a more pragmatic approach to the rise in juvenile crime.
In seven areas of misdemeanor offenses, the Memphis Police Department's new policy will issue juvenile summons in lieu of being transported to the Shelby County Juvenile Court detention center.
In 2009, 7,532 juveniles were transported to Juvenile Court. 90% of those juveniles were released within 24 hours.
With the new plan, crimes committed by juveniles including disorderly conduct, simple assault, criminal trespass, simple possession of marijuana, gambling, theft of property or vandalism under $500, will warrant a summons from officers.
As The Commercial Appeal stated, "the aim is to keep these nonviolent kids from being exposed
unnecessarily to the stigma of a jail culture that very likely could
push them further toward a life of crime."
The new initiative marks a continued community-wide investment in the reduction of juvenile crimes. This includes the continued support of the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools.
Additionally, the faith-based community has also become engaged in the new initiative providing resources and support services for juveniles. To effectively assist young offenders with redirecting their lives, faith-based leaders will make sure young offenders receiving the summons show up for their court hearings, if their parents fail to take responsibility.
IN THE NEWS
Watch Ms. Linda K. Miller and the new director of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, Mrs. Michelle Fowlkes, on WREG's Live @ 9 with Mary Beth Conley and Alex Coleman, Tuesday, July 27th at 9 a.m.
Also, In The News, read about a recent visit by officials from the Obama administration regarding new strategies for dealing with youth violence.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Did you know, students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class?
Become a mentor with the D.A.'s mentoring-based truancy program and positively impact a child in our community. Click here for more information or to have a representative speak to your group about mentoring opportunities.
Visit our Calendar of Events to find out more opportunities to help this month!
Below are the January - June 2010 FBI
Uniform Part 1 crime trends provided by The University of Memphis
Center for Community Criminology and Research in partnership with the
Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
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