Task force evaluating Charleston juvenile detention center

Local and now state leaders are taking a closer look into dealing with new Missouri Supreme Court rules that dictate how juvenile offenders are handled in the court system.

In April, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that as of Jan. 1, juveniles should not be held in secure detention unless they present a risk to public safety or may fail to appear in court for hearings. The alternatives to detention include supervised release and participation in in-school programs.

To help assess what measures should be taken, the court designed a checklist to evaluate whether a juvenile should be detained. The checklist asks, for example, the kind of offense the juvenile is accused of and whether the juvenile is in school.

Rep. Steve Hodges, D-East Prairie, was recently named to a task force along with other officials from the counties in the 33rd Judicial Circuit of Missouri that will evaluate the juvenile detention center in Charleston, Mo., and make suggestions. The task force, dubbed the Collaborative Team, includes elected officials and representatives from schools, law enforcement, mental health providers and medical providers. The group stresses that the legal system's main goal is to promote direction over punishment for juveniles, Hodges wrote in his newsletter to constituents.

"Pointing juveniles in a positive direction and offering a higher opportunity of lifestyle change is preferred over incarceration," Hodges wrote.

Calls to Hodges were not immediately returned.

The multicounty entity is similar to a Cape Girardeau group assembled in December. State and local officials gathered in Cape Girardeau a month ago to lay out new guidelines and examine what programs could be instituted for Cape Girardeau County juveniles in the criminal justice system. School and law enforcement officials were on hand, as well as representatives from Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The initial meeting was largely preliminary and helped members of the committee get to know one another and understand the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling.

Chief juvenile officer Randy Rhodes said the committee will begin examining how juvenile offenders are handled. Rhodes said he has received positive responses from law enforcement and other entities affected by the Cape Girardeau juvenile detention center's October closure and that he was pleased to be moving forward with input from the community.

When detained, juvenile offenders in Cape Girardeau are sent to the Charleston center.

The Cape Girardeau juvenile committee will meet again Feb. 22 at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center.

psullivan@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

1080 Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, MO