Item 6 - Update on Juvenile/Police Liasion Program AGENDA REPORT SUMMARY
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
Honorable President and Members of the
Board of Education
FROM: James L. Bowersox, City Man~
INITIATED BY: Mark A. Sanchez, Director of Safety Services
James Marmack, Sheriff's Commander
DATE: June 15, 1995
SUBJECT: Update on Juvenile/Police Liaison Programs
ABSTRACT
The City of Poway, in cooperation with the Poway Unified School District, has for the
past eight years incorporated a school-based educational and enforcement program into
the law enforcement activities of the City. Through the City's law enforcement
contract with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, three deputy sheriffs have
been assigned to work with juvenile-related matters. A fourth deputy will be added
with the approval of the Fiscal Year 1995-96 budget. The City of Poway Juvenile Law
Enforcement Program is organized into two units, Intervention/Investigation and
Education. The following report is a brief description of each of these units.
CONCLUSION
Through cooperation of the City of Poway and Poway Unified School District and the San
Diego County Sheriff's Department, the programs described in the attached report have
contributed to providing a safer environment within the schools and the community. In
addition, these programs are helping to channel the most valuable of our resources,
Poway's youth, into roles of productive young citizens. It is far better for society
to change behaviors of the youth than to deal with them within the criminal justice
system as adults.
ACTION
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CITY OF POWAY
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
Honorable President and Members of the Board of Education
FROM: James L. Bowersox, City Manager
INITIATED BY: Mark A. Sanchez, Director of Safety Services James Marmack, Sheriff's Commander
DATE: June 15, 1995
SUBJECT: Update on Juvenile/Police Liaison Programs
BACKGROUND
The City of Poway, in cooperation with the Poway Unified School District, has for
the past eight years incorporated a school-based educational and enforcement
program into the law enforcement activities of the City. Through the City's law
enforcement contract with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, three deputy
sheriffs have been assigned to work with juvenile-related matters. A fourth
deputy will be added with the approval of the Fiscal Year 1995-96 budget.
FINDINGS
The City of Poway Juvenile Law Enforcement Program is organized into two units,
Intervention/Investigation and Education. The following is a brief description
of the activities of each of these units:
Intervention/Investiqation Unit
The Poway Sheriff's Station currently has two officers assigned to the Juvenile
Intervention/Investigation Unit. The Juvenile Officer investigates cases of
runaway and missing juveniles, as well as crimes committed by juveniles.
Detectives assigned to Juvenile Intervention are specially trained officers who
provide programs for the prevention of juvenile delinquency and develop
alternative correctional methods for first time offenders.
Families are included in the analysis and disposition of each Sheriff's case.
Youths diverted from criminal behavior are assigned work projects at parks,
schools, churches and other public facilities, and to anti-graffiti programs.
The officers also work closely with school districts in developing anti-truancy
programs and providing support for curfew enforcement efforts.
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Update on Juvenile/Police Liaison Programs
June 15, 1995
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The second deputy is the Gang Intervention Detective. This detective develops
filing procedures to document and track the local and "wannabe" gang members, as
well as gang members of areas surrounding the City of Poway. This unit also
coordinates progressive law enforcement efforts (in reference to the gang related
problems) with the Poway Station personnel, Poway Unified School District,
adjoining law enforcement agencies, and Sheriff's Department gang related
personnel. They assist in the coordination and implementation of progressive
actions that help to reduce criminal activity involving youths, such as the
truancy and curfew sweeps, as currently conducted by juvenile services. The
detective provides community awareness forums and parent education classes for
the community of Poway and develops alternative programs for the "at risk" and
"wannabe" gang members.
A third deputy to be assigned to the Intervention/Investigation Unit is proposed
to be added with the adoption of the Fiscal Year 1995-96 budget. This position
will be partially funded for the next three years through a United States
Department of Justice "COPS Fast" grant. This position will be used for
intervention work assuming some of the duties of the Gang Intervention Officer at
the middle and high schools. The Gang Intervention Officer will then be
generally assigned to enforcement related activities. The additional officer
will have a significant impact on juvenile crimes through proactive counseling
for "at risk" juveniles and reactive diversion programs for minor offenders.
Druq Education Unit
An option available to contract cities and their school districts, the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education Program (D.A.R.E.), provides school children with facts on
the consequences of substance abuse. The D.A.R.E. goal is to instill the
positive mental attitudes necessary to arm young people for avoiding these
pitfalls.
The Sheriff's Drug Education Unit administers and presents D.A.R.E. at 110
schools countywide each year. This translates to over 10,000 students receiving
the 5th/6th grade core lessons and an additional 35,000 receiving kindergarten
through 4th grade visitations. As required by the program copyright, uniformed,
unarmed deputy sheriffs teach the lessons in the school classrooms.
D.A.R.E.'s 17 week curriculum focuses on maximizing self-esteem, interpersonal
and communication skills, decision making abilities, and knowledge of the
positive alternatives to drug abuse behavior. By being able to recognize and
resist the many subtle pressures that could influence them to experiment with
drugs, students have a higher probability of maturing into productive, law
abiding and healthy adults.
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Update on Juvenile/Police Liaison Programs
June 15, 1995
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The D.A.R.E. deputy provides instruction to the following schools:
Midland School Chaparral School
Pomerado School Painted Rock School
Valley School St. Michael's School
Garden Road School Cornerstone Christian
Tierra Bonita School
CONCLUSION
Through cooperation of the City of Poway and Poway Unified School District and
the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the programs described above have
contributed to providing a safer environment within the schools and the
community. In addition, these programs are helping to channel the most valuable
of our resources, Poway's youth, into roles of productive young citizens. It is
far better for society to change behaviors of the youth than to deal with them
within the criminal justice system as adults.
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