Gainesville Sun
October. 1999
I spent several Thursdays in court. The Defense Lawyer's crotch hung to his knees, and he walked "real cool." The jurors corrected the judge on occasion. The Prosecutor's objection was, "she don' know anythin' 'bout it."
Nobody says "I do," but rather "yup" and "yeah," and the general atmosphere of the court was a bit loud.
Teen court is still a very solemn, respectful environment. It's very real, and it's life-changing.
Crimes ranged from typical teenage silliness to serious, life-threatening problems. Sentences went the gambit from volunteer hours to public apologies, and always a few jury duties must be served. All defendants get counseling and whatever follow-through seems appropriate to the juries and judges in the cases. Alachua County sees only 6% of these offenders in court again.
Teen volunteers progress from jurors to "shadow attorney," co-council and Sr. Attorney. They learn communication skills in the jury room, public speaking and interview skills as lawyers, and always confidence in their abilities. They see the effects of crime on family and friends, and learn from other's mistakes. Nobody is getting in troubleat the moment. It's also the most diverse group of kids I've ever seen in one place.
Is it a worthwhile program? Definitely. Should we support it? Yes. There are dozens of programs run by our justice system that might all be as valuable as this.
But why does our justice system cost so much? Why do we need more? And what are we REALLY willing to sacrifice?
I charted the major components of Alachua County's budget against all Florida Counties' budgets combined. I did this because I wanted to see what other counties valued, and what they spent their money on as compared to Alachua County. I was a bit surprised at what I found.
In 1997 (the latest comparable numbers), Alachua County spent $773 per resident. Of that, 30% went to jails and justice. All Florida Counties combined spent an average of $1239 per resident and 20% on jails and justice. Compared to all of Florida, we sacrificed everything except "general government" to achieve such a wonderful justice system. In fact, the disparity is significant.
(We spend 20% of our budget on "general government." The rest of Florida spends 14%, but that's another story.)
I understand Alachua County isn't like the rest of Florida. The University houses thousands of young men, the demographic that contributes to crime.
But think about it: Students that get accepted at UF are absolutely the best of the best. These kids know how to study, where they are headed, and don't get into a lot of trouble. Both Gainesville and the University have police departments to handle problems that do arise. Who are we REALLY locking up? Our own Alachua County kids, maybe?
Why do we spend out of line with other counties? What does the rest of the state know we don't?
Commissioners Hutchinson, Newport, and Wheat are dissatisfied with our county's spending patterns, but couldn't change the status quo this budget cycle. Our current budget looks very much like this one from 1997.
To change the budget, we might start with analyzing why we are so out of line with the rest of Florida. Do we really want to sacrifice everything else for our court system? Is it justified?
I was impressed with Teen Court. It provided all the elements of a positive teen experience. However, I couldn't help think that prevention BEFORE a crime is committed would be better.
Studies show that every dollar put into good recreation programs saves more than 7 dollars in teen pregnancies, poverty, court costs, and jail time. The effects of good recreation are felt in as little as 5 years. After school, before parents get home, is when teens get pregnant and into other kinds of trouble.
Yet, we in Alachua County choose to cut these programs in favor of our justice system. In my mind, we're doing something very wrong. We need to reverse the trend.
Let's put the dollars up front,
before the kids get in trouble. And let's change the way Alachua
County spends its money.