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Click here to e-mail usThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Home News Local News Probation officers use programs to deter repeat offenders Probation officers use programs to deter repeat offenders Written by Sean Janssen, The Union Democrat February 02, 2009 07:18 pm Probation officials in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties have turned to programs that educate and re-focus juvenile offenders to keep them from repeating their crimes. There is no standard process for compiling data on juvenile recidivism among California counties. In seeking funding for a juvenile detention center, Tuolumne County officials commissioned a report from TRG Consulting of Rancho Mirage on juvenile detention needs. Using data provided by the county probation office on juveniles placed in detention or alternative programs in a recent three-year period, the consultants determined there is a 28.2 percent recidivism rate in Tuolumne County (155 repeat offenders among the 549 juveniles). In Calaveras County, the rate was even lower at 20.3 percent. Both figures are considered to be fairly low. Tuolumne County Chief Probation Officer Shirlee Juhl feels the numbers reflect a strong system in place including efforts toward “getting the kids to connect with their community and not be alienated.” In both counties, re-offense figures reflect only new crimes rather than dirty drug tests or missed classes when a juvenile is already on probation. To get Tuolumne County teens on a more positive path, the juveniles have been introduced to new opportunities via programs like the New Horizons after-school and summer program, overseen by Deputy Probation Officer Cinnamon Lampi. Lampi said the 16-week sessions were created “to help kids get ... interested in something and show them there’s a lot in this community that is accessible and interesting.” The list of activities she has arranged is wide: cooking classes, lessons from a table tennis pro, golf lessons, assisting at a food bank, walking dogs at the Humane Society, looking for gold and Gold Rush-era artifacts in Groveland with metal detectors, photography and clay art classes and more. The program is designed to “expose them to social situations and give them positive role models.” Humane Society of Tuolumne County Director Randy McNurlin said the teens have been coming in for the past nine to 12 months and “have been really helpful,” hopefully learning greater respect for the live animals. Another program headed up by Lampi is the eight-week victim impact class at the Mountain Women’s Resource Center. There, the teens hear from crime victims about their experiences and “we try to develop empathy,” she said. In one activity, juveniles are each given a hypothetical job, income and home. As the game goes on, their car is stolen, for example, and choices are given what to do next. By the end, the players are typically broke, without transportation and have had to fill out enough forms to drive anyone batty, Lampi said. “We want them to think beyond the crime and initial impulse ... to what really goes on for these victims,” she said. Juhl is hopeful successful programs for those incarcerated can be provided close to home if Tuolumne County succeeds in building its proposed juvenile detention facility. Such a facility would allow for better continuity between programs and education provided in lock-up and upon release. “If behavioral health has staff going into the hall for counseling, then they can still have that relationship when the (offender is) out,” Juhl said. 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