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tuesday, march 15, 1977
third dimension
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Dy E II Ccsscclo
It's called an offense, not a crime. At a holding facility
resembling a college dormitory, there is a week of waiting
for a court hearing, not a trial. The judge, who has left the
traditional black robe in the closet, rules a need for court
supervision instead of a guilty verdict.
The terms may change but the problem remains -juveniles
in trouble with the law.
A juvenile in Nebraska is anyone younger than 18. A
person in this age group who is married or in the service
can still be considered a juvenile, Lincoln Police Sgt. Gary
Hoffman said.
Hoffman heads the Youth Aid Bureau of the Lincoln
Police Dept. which is an intake and referral agency for
youths age IS and younger. Hoffman said he seldom
deals with 16 and 17 year olds because they are handled
as adults until the hearing.
The county attorney can charge any juvenile as an
adult. This means the juvenile goes through the adult
rather than the juvenile court system, and is subject to
adult penalties including jail. Hoffman said before
charging, the county attorney considers the seriousness of
the offense, the youth's past record and attitude,
juveniles involved in murder, armed robbery and rape
probably will be tried as adults.
Age is lower
'The age of those involved in more serious type crimes
is lower than say (it was) five years ago," Hoffman said.
"I can never recall a time (before five years ago) when we
had a 17-year-old involved in a homicide, yet it happened
two years ago."
Most juvenile offenses are not that serious and the
majority never reach juvenile or adult courts. A policeman
may handle the call himself, Hoffman said. For example, i
first-time shoplifter will be sent home to parents. After a
second time the officer will contact the youth's parents,
issue a citation and refer the juvenile to the Youth Aid
Bureau. Theft, particularly shoplifting, is the number one
juvenile offense in Lincoln.
Hoffman: "Most of the parents are
very concerned," but they don't
know what to do."
Hoffman said he then interviews the youth and his
or her parents and advises them of the youth's consti
tutional rights.
"Most of the parents are very concerned," he said,
"but they don't know what to do."
He attributed troubled juveniles to the "parent's atti
tude of letting kids do what they want to do."
The bureau may choose to counsel a juvenile or refer
the youth to the County Juvenile Court. The juvenile
court may then send the youth to the Jennie B. Harrell
Attention Center to await a hearing.
Modern building
The center, at 2220 S. 10th St., is a modern one-story
brick building that hardly resembles the traditional
picture of a detention center.
"Basically we're just a holding facility," Jon Hill, at
tention center director, said. "We are a last resort since we
are a locked facility."
"They (police and probation officers) try to locate an
open environment before they send them here."
Hill said the center provides a place where "they're
none the worse for wear. . .knowing this is a very
traumatic experience for them."
"They're scared. They don't know what to expect,
we're not a typical detention center with bars and
windows."
The year-old building is more the typical college dormi
tory than detention center. Most activity is in the main
room which includes a television area, a sunken area en
closing a gas fireplace, pool table and ping pong table.
The windows are curtained, not barred, and the entire
building is carpeted.
Arts and crafts
There is also an arts and crafts room and an area for
weight-lifting.
Off the main room are separate halls of bedrooms for
males and females. The bedrooms have a window, table,
chair and bed. There is one bathroom in each wing, to be
shared by about eight youths.
Juvenile counselor Carmen DeCinque said, "A lot of
the kids can't handle the degree of freedom they have
i here." They think there must be a catch, he said.
It's not all roses for juveniles at the center. It's some
times thorns. Incoming youths must submit to a search,
then strip and shower. Hill said it is hard for the youths
to maintain dignity, but it must be done.
Other thorns are the locked doors and restrictions.
There are two security rooms which are stripped
down versions of the bedrooms. They are the only rooms
with jail locks, are uncarpeted and generally colder.
Youths are put in here to "cool off for no longer than
eight hours, DeCinque said.
There are intercoms in every room which can be used
to pipe in rock music or communicate with the staff at
the control desk. The control desk monitors all doors and
rooms. The juveniles are locked in their rooms after mid
night and after 1 a.m. on weekends.
Reality-oriented
The staff primarily consists of 10 counselors who are
"reality-oriented," Hill said. Emphasis is on the here and
now.
"You're here now and what happens from here is large
ly up to you," Hill said he tells them.
The youth probably will spend about a week at the
center waiting for a juvenile court hearing or longer for an
adult court trial.
Youths in juvenile court deal with Juvenile Court
Judge William Nuernberger on the fourth floor of the
County-City Building.
Nuernberger; "We know we're not
going to change society by locking
that child up with others like him."
"The answer is obvious they do not come out better
persons."
"Our philosophy is we will never find the answers.
Maybe we can do a little bit better job."
Informal hearings " 1
. The court hearings usually are informal,
with Nuernberger dressed in street clothes instead of
judicial robes. He doesn't sit on the bench but at the head
of a rectangular table. Formal hearings are held upon
request.
The charges are read by the county attorney, the juve
nile's rights are given, the case is discussed and the judge
makes a decision. ' ,
The youth is not found to be a delinquent or to be
guilty, but within the jurisdiction of and subject to the
further orders of this court " Nuernberger said.
He said the term juvenile delinquent is not used by the
Jaw or courts in an effort to avoid tagging or labeling a
person for life. ,
Most juveniles are put on probation. The few who are
not are put in one of the following places: foster homes,
Youth Development Centers at Kearney for boys and at
Geneva for girls, the Regional Center, St. Joseph's
Hospital in Omaha, or a group home.D
1, ."; fjK
S ky
Left: Harrell residents communicate from their rooms to
staff through the intercom system based at the control
desk. Right: Incoming juveniles are issued a new pair of
tennis shoes from this supply.
