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Anonymous ID: 52c9a0 Dec. 21, 2021, 8:59 a.m. No.15231566   🗄️.is đź”—kun

GascĂłn launches juvenile diversion program amid claims it goes too far

 

Minors accused of a wide array of crimes, including robbery, sexual battery and arson, will be eligible for a new diversion program launched by Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George GascĂłn that spares offenders from criminal charges and requires them to make amends in other ways.

 

GascĂłn unveiled details of how his Restorative Enhanced Diversion For Youth program will work in an internal memo to prosecutors last week.

 

While teens accused of the many serious violent crimes — including murder, rape and any offense in which a gun was used or someone was seriously injured — would be barred from the program, those facing charges of burglary, vehicle theft, assaults or robberies that didn't result in serious injury, arson or sexual battery can be selected, according to the memo, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times.

 

Under the initiative, an accused minor can be placed in the diversion program before criminal charges are filed only if the victim of the crime agrees to participate and if the accused takes responsibility for the crime.

 

If the victim consents, an outside service provider will take over the case and devise "an individually tailored program designed to address the underlying issues that contribute to criminal behavior, such as mental health needs or substance use," GascĂłn said in a statement.

 

It is expected that offenders will be required to meet face-to-face with their victims in "restorative justice conferences," officials said.

 

“This program will help repair the immense harm that criminal behavior inflicts on our community by giving crime victims the opportunity to actively participate in the restorative justice process,” Gascón said.

 

GascĂłn first announced the program during a November news conference, but offered few specifics on how it would work.

 

The memo, which was sent Friday and spelled out the types of crimes that qualify for diversion, sparked an immediate backlash from critics inside and outside the D.A.’s office who believe progressive reforms being pushed by Gascón go too far.

 

Sacramento Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert, a frequent critic of GascĂłn who is running for state attorney general next year, decried the new policy, calling it GascĂłn's "latest reckless order."

 

"No charges for 17-year-olds who commit child molest, raping a drugged victim, domestic violence, sledge hammer smash n grabs, robbery of an 80-year-old, and torture of animals," she wrote on Twitter Friday. "What a disgrace."

 

Alex Bastian, a special advisor to GascĂłn, said Schubert was wrong to suggest everyone accused of each crime listed in the memo would be put into the diversion program. Each case, Bastian emphasized, will be reviewed individually.

 

Those checks make the program different from the an all-or-nothing approach Gascón has taken to juvenile cases over the past year, in which he has refused to try any teens as adults — even those accused of grisly murders.

 

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Sharon Woo knocked down warnings from some opposed to the program that a large number of juveniles accused of serious crimes will be allowed to avoid being judged and punished in court. The three service providers managing cases referred by the district attorney's office have resources to manage only about a dozen cases per month, Woo said.

 

Critics inside GascĂłn's office, like Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami, took issue with what he said was the memo's vagueness. He noted, for example, it did not explicitly bar offenders accused of crimes committed with a knife or blunt instrument. Hatami also warned that juveniles involved in recent organized smash-and-grab robberies at high-end retail stores could be granted diversion under the policy.

 

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/gasc-n-launches-juvenile-diversion-130043220.html