CRIME BILL AFFECTS JUVENILES

An LSD drug-deal at Cape Central Junior High School in early April and a marijuana transaction Friday morning could easily have gone unnoticed by the public because existing laws cloak records of juvenile crime.

If the same crimes were committed by someone 17 or older, it would be a matter of public record.

But in the case of a juvenile -- someone 16 or younger -- detailed information can be obtained only from sources outside law enforcement.

Cape Girardeau Superintendent Neyland Clark confirmed a 13-year-old girl was caught with what authorities think was LSD drops. The girl has been expelled permanently for selling the drug.

Clark learned Friday morning a student sold marijuana to another student. "The law enforcement authorities were notified and the paperwork is still being processed," Clark said.

LSD drops, which cost from $2 to $5 per dosage unit, are anywhere from one-quarter to three-quarter-inch invisible microscopic blots that are placed on a sheet of paper.

People eat the paper to consume the drug. A blotter paper usually contains about 300 squares with four dosage units per square.

The blots are identified by logos on the paper. Pam Johnson, a forensic chemist who analyzes LSD drops and other drugs at the Southeast Missouri State crime lab, said the drug is made in small labs, most of which are in northern California.

She said it takes extensive knowledge of chemistry to produce the liquid placed on the logos. "It's not as easy to make as, say, methamphetamine," she said.

This is the fourth case of LSD drops Johnson has seen this year. The most cases occurred in 1993 when six LSD blotter sheets were analyzed.

District 32 juvenile officer Randy Rhodes said the LSD drops are usually brought into cities like Cape Girardeau more often in the summer when juveniles tend to travel to out-of-town rock concerts.

The police and juvenile officers were notified by Central Junior High Principal Gerald Phillips after the student selling the LSD drops was caught.

From that point on the law enforcement agencies were not allowed under law to discuss the case.

In fact, if they do discuss the case and are caught, a misdemeanor charge is levied against them for divulging the information.

Clark said this was the second case this year of a Cape Junior High student being expelled for selling a controlled substance. He didn't know of any student at the Senior High being expelled for selling controlled substances.

Because juvenile crimes aren't public record, juvenile officers are unable to provide specific information about such cases.

Police and juvenile officers aren't allowed to provide the name and can only give limited information, such as the age, offense and when it happened.

However, a juvenile crime bill before Gov. Mel Carnahan would allow a juvenile officer to make non-identifying information public.

It would also make juvenile proceedings public record for certain kinds of felonies.

In addition, under the new bill expulsion would be broadened from 90 days to 180 days.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor Morley Swingle thinks legislation that protects juveniles from public exposure must be changed to fit crimes committed by today's juveniles.

Swingle isn't for releasing names of juveniles involved in certain crimes, but he thinks the public has a right to know about serious juvenile crime in their own city.

"Right now there is no mechanism for disseminating information on juvenile crime," Swingle said. "I think there are instances where the public has the right to know if a violent crime was committed or a drug problem exists in the schools."

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard "Butch" Boyd favors releasing the names of juveniles arrested for selling drugs in schools. "I think the public has the right to know what is going on in their community," he said. "Shouldn't a family know about someone their kid might want to bring home for supper?"

Cape School Board President Bob Fox thinks administrators should be given information on students who have a history of violent crimes. "Right now the administration is not privy to that information and they should be," Fox said. "A juvenile could kill somebody and no one would know about it."

The proposed juvenile crime bill provides the school with such information.

Fox is comfortable with the administration's ability to handle its own disciplinary problems and doesn't favor making that information public.

If drugs are found on a student in a Cape public school, the matter becomes an automatic 10-day suspension and appeal by the administration to the student's parents to seek drug and alcohol counseling for their child.

If the school thinks the student is trying to sell drugs, the matter goes before the Cape Board of Education and usually results in permanent expulsion.

Clark said the Cape School Board will consider automatic expulsion for both possession and selling of controlled substances.

"It's a serious matter that is going to be taken seriously by the board in upcoming meetings," Clark said.

Fox said the type of crime should be considered when opening up the case to the public.

"If there is a fight, I think that should be kept confidential," Fox said. "I know there are drugs in schools, but kids just don't rat on other kids." Students tell their parents when they feel there is a drug problem and that is how the information gets to the public.

Swingle said if juveniles were aware the law no longer protects them from public disclosure there would be a more serious deterrent for committing violent crimes.

"Right now juveniles know that information on serious crimes is not released and it gives them a sense of security," he said. "The last juvenile code that was passed in the 1950s dealt with infractions as innocent as teen-agers driving without a license. We're dealing with a different element here."