Program aims at keeping discipline in schools
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on July 19, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
New Hanover County Chief District Court Judge Julius Corpening leads the community stakeholder meeting about a misdemeanor diversion program Friday at the Wayne County Courthouse.
A local initiative designed to give children a second chance by keeping discipline in schools instead of courtrooms inched closer to becoming a reality Friday.
Community stakeholders who would have a vested interest in the program, such as law enforcement, educators, elected officials and attorneys, gathered in Courtroom No. 1 of the Wayne County Courthouse to hash out some specifics of the misdemeanor diversion program.
New Hanover County Chief District Court Judge Julius Corpening was on hand to present what his county had done by designing a similar program to the one many hope will come to fruition locally.
The local misdemeanor diversion program is designed to hold children accountable by disciplining them in schools for minor offenses instead of in a courtroom after they've been charged with a misdemeanor for an otherwise negligible offense.
"We've got lots of really good kids who sometimes do foolish and stupid things that intersects them with the disciplinarians in the building, or intersects them with our court system," Corpening said. "That doesn't make them bad kids. But if we shape them into being bad kids, then what do we have as adults?"
Empowering authorities to turn what would currently be a misdemeanor charge into a teachable moment by keeping it inside the school improves the school's climate, Corpening said, and allows officers and students to form better bonds.
Corpening gave the people in attendance a rundown of the details about the program -- called a school justice partnership -- in New Hanover County, which was implemented November 2015.
The community stakeholders laid out their hopes for what the program, if implemented, can accomplish -- among those goals were things like increasing school graduation rates, keeping children in school, decreasing the overall crime rate, improving the economy and more.
They also discussed which offenses might be included in the program, learning which ones were included in New Hanover County's initiative.
Things that were discussed as possibly being included in the program when it takes shape -- meaning if a student commits the offense the student might not be automatically charged with it anymore -- were things like affray, simple assault, disorderly conduct, larceny, possession of marijuana or possession of alcohol.
"You guys in schools know these kids," Corpening said. "And if you've got a kid that you feel like you can work with, and you're asking me to let you work with that kid instead of sending that kid to me, 100 times out of 100, the answer's yes."
It is important to note these things were not written in stone during the meeting Friday. They were suggestions offered up during the session with Corpening as things that could be included once the program takes shape, some of which are included in New Hanover County's program.
Each offense would be handled individually, on a case-by-case basis, where authorities could decide whether or not to charge a student with an offense based on the circumstances surrounding it and considering the context in which an offense happened.