community is to have the juvenile offend- er participate in an after-school extra-cur- ricular activity of the youth’s choosing for a couple of weeks. All of these responses to delinquent behavior are structured with the hope of engaging the youth so that they won’t reoffend. If the juvenile completes his or her agreed-to community service or the like, no paperwork is forwarded to the state’s attorney for a possible delinquency petition. Consequently, family court over- sight is not necessary. It is important to note that when delin- quency paperwork is sent to the state’s at- torney from the SRO requesting a delin- quency petition, it should be a clear indica- tion to all parties that all other solutions and resources to address the delinquent behav- ior have been attempted or that the behav- ior is too egregious, such as in the case of an aggravated assault or a sex crime. In speaking anecdotally with law enforce- ment, schools, state’s attorneys, attorneys who represent children and parents, and DCF, it seems that communities with a committed school resource officer are ex- periencing a decrease in delinquent be- havior. Specifically, there have been reduc- tions in fights or bullying on campus during school hours, incidences of drug violations in schools, and of neighborhood offenses (e.g., unlawful mischief, burglaries) by stu- dents during school hours. This decrease is evidenced by law enforcement and school incident reports, discipline referrals for fighting, and suspensions for assaults and threats. Victims of delinquency petitions have also voiced their appreciation of having an SRO available to them while attend- ing classes. It is reassuring for the victims to know that if a juvenile offender violates any conditions that have been ordered by the family court to keep the victim safe, the SRO can immediately intervene. And the SROs are able to monitor a juvenile offend- er’s court-ordered conditions to assure vic- tim and community safety. Interestingly, during the last seven years
there has been approximately a 4% in- crease in Franklin County for requests for Child in Need of Care and Supervision (CHINS) petitions based on the investiga- tions of SROs. Of note is the fact that the state’s attorney filed CHINS petitions on all of the requests for CHINS petitions for- warded by the SROs.
When the SROs in Franklin County were
asked why there is a decrease in their re- quests for delinquency petitions and an in- crease for CHINS petitions, one SRO was clear: that during an investigation into a stu- dent’s alleged delinquent or truant behav- ior, the SRO learns that student was acting out because of abuse or neglect. The SRO found that to be the case with several stu- dents who were frequently running away or
30 THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • WINTER 2013
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stealing. As it turned out, many of the stu- dents exhibiting those types of behaviors were trying to keep themselves safe and nourished. More often than not, the SRO working together with DCF, the school, the family, and other providers were able to support the juvenile and family, thus elimi- nating the need for a CHINS petition. The 4% increase in the filing of CHINS petitions involving the SRO were most often cases in which the family did not engage in services or had issues of serious domestic violence directly impacting the child. SROs play an important role in the pre- vention of delinquent behavior. Their pres- ence in the schools and the community is often a deterrent in and of itself. In addi- tion, however, the SROs are a positive role model for the students while at the same time improving trust and relationships be- tween law enforcement and juveniles. And as a result of this improved relationship be- tween SROs and students, in particular, the SRO uncovers more issues of abuse and neglect.
Overall, a skilled SRO reduces the need for family court intervention and oversight.
While there might be a very slight increase in the number of CHINS cases requiring court, DCF, attorney, and other resources, an SRO significantly reduces the number of resources needed to address many delin- quent behaviors that occur on school prop- erty and in the immediate community. As evidenced by the Brady Wood case outlined above, a school resource officer is a resource for a school, the students, the community, and the juvenile justice system. ____________________ Diane C. Wheeler, Esq., is a depu-
ty state’s attorney in the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s Office. Diane has been responsible for family court juvenile cases since 1995. For the last fifteen years she has also served as the assigned prosecutor to the Northwest Unit for Special Investiga- tions, the unit that investigates and pros- ecutes crimes of a sexual nature, crimes against children, and crimes involving vul- nerable persons.
____________________ 1
2 Not the juvenile’s real name.
CHINS is “child in need of care or supervi- sion.” 33 V.S.A. § 5102 (3).
The Children’s Corner
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