Back to the fifth to Okay.

Did you get any feedback or any thoughts why there was no referrals?

Through the chair to the committee, no.

Well, that's something I would hope the safe directors in the back of the room.

I hope he's listening to this.

And then I hope he can men he um um relates this to the chief as well.

If you have a program that's attempting to help young people before they do wind up behind bars, unfortunately, then I would like to think that we would promote this program and try to make everybody aware of it and make certainly the police officer that are working our streets, um, where we can hopefully get a young person on a different path and get a family member engaged in this process so they don't wind up with a criminal record.

Um I think that's very important uh to the in today's world.

So I'm gonna stop there.

Are the other questions?

Because I'm gonna open up for my colleagues, I'm gonna open up for questions.

Any other you have any?

To the chair and then committee, I also wanted to echo in addition to your comments.

Um, that the the uh key significant part of this pilot that we need to emphasize is we're trying to prevent young people from getting that record that prevents them from getting into a system that makes it hard for them to get jobs.

Yes.

Um a lot of these young people don't understand that once you go before the court system, it is very hard when running background checks for certain opportunities that these youth um violations that end up in the system carry on even once they get into an adult and can prevent them from some key opportunities of employment.

Right.

Okay.

I'm gonna open up for questions first the vice chair, and then I have Nikki Hudson after that.

Okay.

Councilwoman Hudson.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Um follow up on um the the chair's line of questioning.

Um when an officer um detains a youth, isn't it through the chair, is it in his discret in their discretion already to um drive the youth home without um you know filing charges whoever can answer that I'm I don't know if they can, I'll ask the director to come to the table who worked the the fifth, the sixth district, then the fifth district, and then uh was chief um Jack of all trades.

Okay.

Good afternoon, Chair and uh committee members.

Uh the question uh uh Councilwoman Hudson relative to an officer encountering uh juvenile with say a call for service, or the case might be.

Just it's gonna depend on the the offense.

Um they have to call contact juvenile facility uh to determine whether or not the the juvenile will be accepted into the facility.

If they are, they'll transport the juvenile there, complete their reports, um, and then move on from there.

But there is a process that that the officers uh follow based on their policies and the law.

Council lady?

Um so just to just to be clear, is it within the officers' discretion to not charge the youth and simply drive them home without this program?

It is not within their preview whether or not to charge a child well arrest a child.

If a child is involved in a criminal activity, um whatever that case might be, it is not within the officer's preview just to let that particular child go.

If the child was involved in a robbery, uh they're gonna do their jobs.

If it's petty theft, they're gonna do their their job and um follow through with the process.

This program, the past program, give gives them the opportunity officers to obviously refer the the children a child to this program if they're eligible for the program.

Um if they're not always before the program, then the officers will follow the normal course of action.

Okay, thank you.

And uh through the chair, can you give some examples of the you know the low-level offenses that would qualify uh a child for this program?

Yes, whoever yes, I can get some examples.

So those could include um typically misdemeanor level offenses, potentially unruly offenses.

Um these would include maybe uh misdemeanor theft, um, a public disturbance where um a local business may have been impacted.

Um but like I said, it's all law enforcement driven, so it doesn't mean that every circumstance, every you know, misdemeanor assault will get referred to the past program.

Um they have the ability to take into account the full circumstances as they arrive on the scene to determine if a youth may or may not be eligible to participate.

Does that include uh through the chair curfew offenses?

It could also include curfew, so we have identified that you know, in situations if you see a youth that's consistently outside, you see them at 10 o'clock, you see them at 12 o'clock, you see them at 2 a.m.

You know, that's kind of identifying there may be some underlying needs in our household, something along those lines, so those youth can also be referred to the past program because that could definitely quickly snowball into them getting into something that could be more um uh higher level or go official.

Understand, thank you.

And through the chair, to the to the director.

So if it if a youth is picked up for curfew, is it in the officer's discretion to you know drive the youth home without you know filing charges or taking them, you know, and I'm assuming that they don't have a warrant, um, but to you know, drive them home and then just speak with the parents?

Through the chair, that's a great example through council person Hudson.

That's a great example.

Uh yes, in that particular case, depending on the circumstances, yes, the officer in that particular case, whether than citing the juvenile or the parent generally, when I did it um years ago, we normally would take the juvenile back to their guardian or parent and and make a decision which was discretionary at that particular time whether or not we were gonna cite the parent for the curfew violation.

So in that particular case, it was more discretionary.

Okay, thank you.

And then just following up also about why a family might not agree to participate in this program, um, and or you know, uh other barriers to participating in this program.

Um, you know, if if a child doesn't have the um familial support, the parental support at home, does that mean that they're not eligible for this program through the chair?