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First Time Offenders May Opt Out of Prison Through Community Program

Matt Lemas |
October 15, 2014 | 2:06 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

The Los Angeles Men's Centrail Jail. (Creative Commons)
The Los Angeles Men's Centrail Jail. (Creative Commons)
The Los Angeles City Attorney's office is rolling out a new program this month that will work to keep first time offenders who have committed low-level crimes out of prison.

Bolstered by a $435,000 grant from the Office of Justice Programs, the program will host community panels that will allow those who have committed a crime to participate in community outreach opportunities as a form of restitution rather than going to prison.

For example, a person who sprayed graffiti at a local store may be told to paint over the damage, as well as discuss with the panel how the crime hurt both the business and the community, instead of being incarcerated. The panel will consist of volunteers who live in the area where the crime was committed. 

Dubbed the Neighborhood Justice program, it will be used in certain parts of Los Angeles as viable alternatives to the traditional rout of criminal persecution as of October. 

In a Los Angeles Times editorial, L.A. city attorney Mike Feuer described the program as bridging the disconnect between the “traditional, incarnation-orientated criminal justice system” and the inner workings of community life. 

"Neighborhood Justice is designed to connect closely to the special character of each L.A. neighborhood, targeting low-level offenses that the current system often fails to handle effectively," he wrote. 

SEE ALSO: Fixing California's Flawed Prison System

The 453k 'Smart Prosecution' grant will go toward funding two full time positions over two years to staff the Neighborhood Justice program, according to a press release. The program will currently be limited to Pacoima, South Los Angeles and the Harbor area. 

Currently, the City Attorney's office is working in conjunction with community resources to successfully implement the program. 

One of these facilities is the Toberman Neighborhood Center. Based in San Pedro, Toberman is a non-profit community-based organization which works to support families and individuals through assistance programs such as after school activities, parenting workshops and gang intervention.

Linda Matock, the CEO of the center, shared that their work will not involve recruiting volunteers for the panels, but rather supplying the necessary services and facilities for those involved in the Neighborhood Justice program. 

"We’re going to provide the location, and we’re going to provide the resources and services that may be aligned with the restitution grant so that we can support the individual who lives in our community to do the things that they need to do," she said.  

Community advocates see the panel as a viable substitute to traditional incarceration in order to keep first time offenders from committing further crimes. Matock stressed that this program will allow those involved in the program to have a second chance without undergoing jail time. 

“I think it’s a great alternative," she said. "If we can help people before they have to make a court appearance — if they change their behavior such that they don’t have a second offense — then we’ve given them another opportunity to move on with their lives," Matock said.  "It’s a very positive program."

Reach Staff Reporter Matt Lemas here.



 

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