1. Pre Arrest Screening of Juveniles by Law Enforcement
Deputy Superintendent Michael Gropman, Brookline Police Department
15 June 2017

2. Pre Arrest Screening of Juveniles by Law Enforcement
The Goal of Police: Absence of Crime
LE uses a Public Safety Approach to achieve goal
Means to Attain the Goal is through CJS:
Arrest>>>Prosecution>>>Probation>>>Prison
Success in L. E. measured quantitatively (Compstat)
Increases in crime are related individual trends & community factors
Decreases are related to enforcement tactics
Therefore…
c. Increases in enforcement should decrease crime…??

3. Pre Arrest Screening of Juveniles by Law Enforcement
Police Legitimacy- Public’s feeling of obligation to voluntarily defer to the police, which adheres to the law itself & those tasked with enforcing it. 
Procedural Justice-Perception that authorities act fairly by letting those encountered: tell their side of the story, treat them w/ respect & make decisions in an honest & unbiased manner. 
Literature shows the average impact of being stopped by police is to lower one’s trust & confidence in legal institutions & increase their likelihood of criminal behavior. *( When stop perceived as unfair, biased, arbitrary)
Police officers are having the opposite desired effect . They are increasing the propensity toward criminality with whom they interact, not lessening it.
Particularly true for adolescents & young adults, groups most frequently stopped by P.

4. Pre Arrest Screening of Juveniles by Law Enforcement
Current types of screening by LE:
Department policy
State mandate (Shall’s)
Common Law (Disturbing)
Discretionary Arrest Authority
Dr. Kevin Gilmartin:
“Cynicism is distrust of human nature & motives… *Normal people make decisions based on probability…
*Cops make decisions based on possibility.
Discretion is subjective and is different for each individual based on life experiences & influences.
Policies& supervision used to counter individual biases’ & subjectivity….But Culture eats Policy for Breakfast *

5. Procedural Justice - Sir Robert Peel - Sir Robert Peel
“The police are the public and the public are the police.”
- Sir Robert Peel
“The police are the public and
the public are the police.”
- Sir Robert Peel

6. JDAI STRATEGY (AECF)
We want vulnerable kids to have a bright future…we work tirelessly to advance solutions that improve the well-being of kids.
How do we define Vulnerable kids?
How do we define At Risk Kids?
Good kids?
Bad Kids?

7. TEENS BEHAVING BADLY

8. JDAI STRATEGY (AECF)
Which one of these kids in video would you define as:
Vulnerable?
At Risk?
Good?
Bad?
It’s like playing a game of chance…Roulette

9. JDAI STRATEGY (AECF)
Based on the video, which child will graduate to adult crime?
Like the game of Roulette, it’s difficult to pick
Research tells us that criminality is associated w/ a number of traits, characteristics, and conditions
It makes sense that people who exhibit or possess these attributes will become criminals
However, most don’t…..Why?

10. JDAI STRATEGY Current Trends of Juvenile Incarceration point downward…
WHY?
AECF-JDAI-RAI USE
Cost of Incarceration
Social Consciousness
Media coverage
Game of roulette moving towards structured decision-making
Juvenile arrest rates are down …but they CAN go lower

11. Pre Arrest Screening of Juveniles by Law Enforcement
Current Massachusetts LE Diversion Trends:
CIT referral
Mental health intervention
Community Service (work)
Other Community based strategies
However, NO standardized approaches to diversion in most communities in State including Boston
This is like rolling a roulette wheel…
Who gets chosen for diversion?
Why do they get chosen?
How do they get chosen?
Without standards & criteria…decision is arbitrary.

12. MASTLE WHAT IT IS? WHAT IT ISN’T? WHY IT IS NEEDED?
WHAT TYPE OF EFFECT CAN IT HAVE?

13. MASTLE What is required for this
Structured measuring tool (MASTLE) to be effective?
Structured decision only part of equation
Divert low risk to appropriate services?
Where do we find these services?
How do we coordinate these services?
How do we ensure effective intervention to decrease recidivism?

14. MASTLE 1

15. MASTLE 2

16. Brookline Police Department Results
Year
White
Juvenile
Black Juvenile
Hispanic/Latino Juvenile
Asian Juvenile
Other Juvenile (Specify)
Male Juvenile
Female Juvenile
Total Juveniles
% Recidivate
2015 6 13 8 1
none 24 4 28
2016 17 19 12 39 9 48
Table 2016 IV- Arraign Dismissed/ Arraigned Issued
2016
Total
Diverted
Arraigned
NO Recidivate
(DAN)
Recidivate
(DAR)
NO Arraign
(DNR)
(DNN)
White 7 1 6
Black 4
H/L 5
Asian
Other
TOTAL 18 2 14

17. MASTLE Table 2016 V- Diversion Statistics 2016 (AAN) DISMISSED
2016
Arrested
Arraigned**
NO Recidivate
(AAN)
DISMISSED
W/O CORI
ISSUED
W/ CORI
White 3
Black 8 2
H/L 1
Asian
Other
TOTAL 14 6