Ogle County Efforts to Curb Juvenile Crime Showing Success

Ogle County Efforts to Curb Juvenile Crime Showing Success

ROCHELLE, IL – Improved public safety and savings for taxpayer are among the benefits of a successful effort to rehabilitate juvenile offenders in Ogle County, according to a progress report given to community members on Tuesday.

“One of our primary focuses has been to change the behaviors of young people now and to help them stay out of the prison system, a place that most often turns small-time criminals into life-long professional criminals,” said Ogle County State’s Attorney Ben Roe.

The results of county’s coordinated activities include:

Since 2008, 70 percent of juveniles stopped by police have been diverted from formal prosecution for crimes to alternatives such as Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) programs where juvenile offenders accept responsibility for their actions and repair harm done to victims. Less than 5 percent have been rearrested.
The number of formal charges filed against juveniles dropped from 130 in 2007 to 80 in 2009.
Because the number of youth on probation has dropped by nearly 20 percent in the past two years, probation officers have been able to increase their attention on high-risk offenders.
Since 2008, 23 youth who dropped out or were expelled from school, were able to complete the GED (General Education Development) program, giving them an opportunity to obtain an advanced degree or better compete for employment.

“We’ve approached juvenile crime as a community – all of us who deal with young people together at the same table putting together a cohesive plan to reach as many as possible and to help them become productive citizens before it is too late,” Roe said. “And we felt we owed it to you, the community, to give you a personal report on our progress, our challenges and our plans for the future.”

Roe chairs the Ogle County Juvenile Justice Council, which includes representatives of law enforcement, the courts, probation, schools, and community-based agencies that deal with juvenile delinquency and its consequences.

Ogle County’s approach to juvenile crime has received national recognition. It is one of five Illinois demonstration sites for Models for Change, a national initiative funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to accelerate reform of juvenile justice systems across the country.

“Because we’re a Models for Change site, we’ve been able to access national experts on juvenile justice reforms and implement proven programs,” said Sheri Egan, Director of the Ogle County Juvenile Justice Council. “Plus, some $350,000 in grants from Models for Change allowed us to accelerate the reform work here and set the stage for more improvements in the future.”

Greg Martin, Director of Court Services, noted the cost effectiveness of the approach to juvenile behavior problems in the county. “Every child we can send to a Balanced and Restorative Justice program instead of formal court processing saves the county nearly $900,” he said, “and every youth who stays in a school or job and attends a required evening reporting center program instead of being lodged in a juvenile jail saves about $65 per day.”

“Even sending a youth to Focus House for rehabilitation saves taxpayers about $90 a day compared to the cost of housing in a state juvenile prison, and the Focus House child stands a much better chance of staying out of trouble later in life,” Martin said. “It’s also important to remember that most of the young people in trouble either stay in our county or return here from prison. For that reason alone, it’s in all our interest to make rehabilitation work as often as possible.”

Roe said the Juvenile Justice Council’s plans for the future include more use of BARJ programming to make certain youths are held accountable for their actions and victims are made whole; continued emphasis on reviewing each juvenile case as early as possible and connecting youths and families with services where appropriate; and building on the cooperation and shared communications with law enforcement, schools, clergy and others who come in contact with Ogle County youth.

The progress report to the community was part of the observance of Juvenile Justice Awareness Week (May 10 to 16), which was declared by the Ogle County Board in recognition of Ogle County’s Juvenile Justice System and its work with juvenile offenders, crime victims and the community.