Juvenile Court celebrates 75 years of straightening lives
Now working two jobs and on his way to securing a degree from Community College of Allegheny County, Shannon Jones says the robbery he committed three years ago seems like a distant memory.
"I've come a long way. Just last week, I was thinking about where I used to be," said Jones, 19, of Garfield. "I don't know where I'd be now without some of the (juvenile court) programs."
Jones is among several young people whose success stories Allegheny County Juvenile Court is honoring today as part of its 75th anniversary celebration during Juvenile Justice Week. Several youths will receive awards for their work in court programs designed to get kids back on the right track.
The soft-spoken 2007 Peabody High School graduate said he is still deciding what he'd like to do for a career, but is considering becoming a physical education and health teacher. He's paying his own way for classes at the Homewood-Brushton CCAC.
Without the court's past supervision, Jones said he might be in jail -- or worse. At age 16, Jones and three others -- two carrying guns -- entered a neighborhood store to rob it. Luckily, no one got hurt, he said.
"Before I knew it, I heard shots and we took off running," he said.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery. He was sentenced to perform 100 hours of community service and supervision by the court's Community Intensive Supervision Program.
"I was on house arrest, and straight after school they'd pick me up and I would do all of their programs," Jones said. "The person who was assigned to me, he was always talking to me -- when I got stressed out, or what would happen if I messed up.
"The role models really help. With the CISP program you see people getting money the legal way. People weren't doing anything wrong or looking over their shoulder. That was important to learn."
Common Pleas Judge Kim Clark, head of the family division, said juvenile court sentences are geared toward rehabilitation.
"They're kids. The earlier the intervention, the better. If you just lock them up, it doesn't solve the problem. If people wanted to do that, we could just put them in adult court and be done with it," Clark said. "These kids are facing a wide variety of issues. There can be a lack of supervision, parental neglect, drugs and peer pressure."
The percentage of juveniles in Allegheny County who commit another crime while in the juvenile justice system has hovered between 10 percent and 13 percent in the past five years, statistics show. Those numbers don't include children who break the law as adults.
The system handles about 6,000 cases a year and has a $50 million budget, said Jim Reiland, administrator of Juvenile Court. Most of the costs, Reiland said, are related to a child's placement after adjudication. Judges can select from 40 to 45 placement programs.
The juvenile system is for people younger than 18 who commit crimes. The court can supervise offenders until they turn 21; after that, their public records are wiped clean. Children charged with serious offenses, such as homicide, can be tried as adults.
JaJa Nevels Jr., 18, of the North Side is taking advantage of an education program for juvenile offenders. He's in 12th grade at The Academy charter school in Baldwin Borough. The school takes students from Pittsburgh Public Schools who are on juvenile probation.
"The biggest difference is the discipline," Nevels said. "They come and pick you up in the morning. There's only 12 kids in a class. It really does help."
Jones testified before Congress in July 2007 about the value of federal funding for programs to help juvenile offenders reform. He said many times kids need a push in the right direction.
"I think juvenile crime has a lot to do with your environment. If you live in a neighborhood where there are drug dealers, gang members, crackheads and people stealing all the time, then it's tough," Jones said. "I have a lot of different friends now. I don't hang with a lot of the same people.
"A lot of people I know do wrong, but they want to do right and want other people to do right. But it's hard to turn down that quick, easy money. Other ones, they're like crabs in a bucket; they want to pull you down with them."
