Teen Court Doles Out Community Service as Price for Petty Crime

Collin County's Teen Court program is doing much more than running a justice system for teenagers charged with minor crimes. In the first three months, Teen Court volunteers put in more than 500 hours at the county's Animal Shelter as part of the program's community service initiative.

That added service not only saved tax dollars (about $6,655, based on the starting hourly pay of an animal control officer), but helped free up the animal control staff to spend more time caring for the shelter's growing population of stray and abandoned animals.

In the first nine weeks of the community service program, Teen Court defendants averaged 55 hours of helping out the staff of the Animal Shelter each week. All defendants in the peer-based program who are sentenced to community service are required to complete a part of their obligation at the county shelter.

"By coming in and performing many of the day-to-day tasks for us, (Teen Court participants) have allowed our staff to concentrate more on working with the animals," says Misty Brown, director of the shelter. "We have enjoyed watching these young people learn to take responsibility for their actions and behavior."

The partnership between Teen Court and the Collin County Animal Shelter has given participants a positive and constructive way to complete community service, says Teen Court Coordinator Justin Nichols.

"It gives participants a sense of ownership and pride in their work because they know they are really affecting the quality of life of these animals," Nichols said. "Teen Court participants serving the Animal Shelter leave feeling they have made a difference and that their work matters."

Teen Court, which expanded countywide last fall, is a peer-run judicial system where teenagers who are charged with truancy and other minor criminal offenses are prosecuted, defended and tried by other teenagers. If a defendant successfully completes the program, their case is dismissed, fines are waived, and the charge is removed from their criminal record.

As of April 2007, 159 Collin County teenagers have gone through the program, with another 92 who have volunteered time to serve as jurors, prosecutors and defense attorneys. The courts operate at the sub-courthouse in Plano, and the University Drive Courts Facility and the Main Courthouse in McKinney.

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