Editor’s Note: The Norway Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy offers the public an opportunity to learn about law enforcement and what it does from those who do it. It began in April and each week we will feature a class from the eight-week academy.

Week 7 – Juvenile Justice System – Juvenile Community Corrections Officer Chris Dillman

NORWAY —  Title 15 of the state statute includes the juvenile code for offenders under the age of 18, explained JCCO Chris Dillman who has spent the last 20 years as a juvenile corrections officer responsible for working with and deciding the fate of those who get into trouble with the law.

“I meet with the family, listen to the juvenile’s side of the story (as well as law enforcement’s) and then make a recommendation to the district attorney’s office.” said Dillman. He said he has to balance rehabilitation vs punishment. “I have to identify the risks to and the needs of the juvenile as well as the needs of the family.” He plugs in services that can help deal with the issues a particular juvenile may have.

“We want them to graduate from high school and contribute to their communities.”

Some of the common charges against juveniles, he said, include drugs, alcohol, failure to pay fines etc. You can be charged with a crime in Maine at any age, he added, however the minimum age for adjudication is 11. Those children under the age of 11 are referred to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) which will either take custody of the child or provide services.

A child over 11 years of age can also be sent to a residential facility such as Long Creek. Juveniles, he explained, are adjudicated not convicted and their records are sealed. “Juveniles are protected from the public,” he said.

Children can be sentenced up to the age of 21 and. they can also be bound over for a hearing/adult incarceration depending on their backgrounds and how heinous their crime is. He noted there are five juveniles currently at Long Creek having committed murder.

Dillman said the Department of Corrections (DOC) considers it a success, if a child goes a year without another offence. However, if sentenced to Long Creek, he said, there is a 70 % recidivism rate. “Their brains simply aren’t fully developed until the age of 25,” he explained.

Juveniles can be arrested if they commit an act for which an adult would be arrested. Juveniles are committed to the DOC to an age (as opposed to for a term) and the DOC acts in loco parentis or in place of a parent.

“Law enforcement options after an arrest are to interview and dismiss, release to a parent, release and send a report to the JCCO or contact the JCCO and request detention,” he explained, noting there are only two juvenile detention facilities in the state – Mt. View Youth Development Center in Charleston which only takes boys and Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.

“Police,” he said, “have two hours after an arrest of a juvenile, to contact the JCCO. Failure to do so results in the child’s immediate release.”

The whole key to the detention of kids, he said, is that it must fit a purpose and criteria. They chose the most viable, least restrictive option available that is appropriate for the child’s history, status and type of crime.

He noted there is also a restorative justice option available. This is where the offender and the victim meet to work out a resolution to the offense that is acceptable to the victim and the child’s rights.

There are only 48 JCCOs in the state, said Dillman. In Oxford County there are two who cover the entire county with the exception of Buckfield and Otisfield which are covered by a JCCO from Androscoggin County. Sometimes, he said, Maine kids have been sent as far away as Chicago, Detroit, Arkansas and New Hampshire.

JCCOs must have a Bachelor’s degree, said Dillman, and be certified through the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s six-week program. They receive ongoing training every year.

“I think we could do better [for juveniles in Maine],” he concluded, “but some kids are so damaged … if we can just help them turn it around … .”

Editor’s Note: The next Citizens Police Academy will begin Tuesday, September 24.