Teens in Trouble With the Three ‘Ds’

The issue of teens with medical marijuana cards who sell marijuana to other teens has increased, according to local police chiefs.

Mountain View Police Chief Scott Vermeer and Los Altos Police Chief Tuck Younis joined a panel of juvenile law enforcement experts  at the League of Women Voters forum's, "Teen Justice 101," at Los Altos High School on Sept. 29 to teach parents and teens about the effects of drugs, drinking and driving.

However, Vermeer and Younis emphasized that few local teens end up in the juvenile justice system. Out of 1,600 teenagers arrested by Mountain View police in 2009, for example, only about 300 went to trial.

Car accidents, Vermeer indicated, were actually the biggest threats to teenagers.

"A car accident is the No. 1 thing that will kill our kids," said Vermeer, who explained that a teenager's inexperience contributes to the statistics, which is why laws prohibite minors from driving with underage friends or using hands-free devices. "[Car safety,] that's the most important thing you can do to protect your kids."

Based on his experience, Vermeer reminded parents that their involvement could help keep teens out of trouble and out of the police radar. He said kids who smoke, do drugs and drink alcohol do so because there is no parental supervision.

"Our goal is not to lock up your kids," said Vermeer. "It's to avoid them getting locked up, because once they are in, it get exponentially higher that they'll return."

Juvenile Justice Court Judge Jacqueline Duong agreed and used an example of a teen who, after work, went to a party and consumed alcohol. As she drove home in the middle of the night, she hit and killed someone. "Her life changed forever," Duong said. She stressed that once a case got to her, "The teen was in trouble."

Duong, Public Defender Sylvia Perez and Deputy District Attorney Julia Alloggiamento explained to the parents and teenagers in the Los Altos High Theater what procedures awaited a minor once the DA filed a petition, the equivalent of a criminal charge for an adult. Minors' cases appear in civil court before a judge.

All stressed the collaborative nature of the process and how, throughout, rehabilitation was the aim, not punishment.

"There is no win," said Alloggiamento, a prosecutor. "I don't get pleasure in punishment."

Both Alloggiamento and Perez explained that the best-case scenario occurred when parents got involved in their child's lives, yet each understood that some parents didn't know what to do when they saw their child going down the wrong path.

"If we put it in the hands of the parents, we'll have the greatest success," said Alloggiamento, who coordinated the countywide version of the national parenting skills program, Parent Project.

Perez explained that in her experience, 80 percent of teens who got in trouble once and never returned were ones who had an unwavering support system. It's the other 20 percent that kept coming back.

"I don't think that a child coming into the justice system is a solution," said Perez, in response to requests by parents who wanted her to "come pick up their child."

"The justice system does not fix your kids," Perez said.

David Schuman, a 16-year-old, said he went to the forum because he wanted to find out more about his rights. The police went to his home when he threw a party that attracted a lot of cars and noise to his street. His parents were out of town at the time. 

"I paid my dues to my parents," he said. "They grounded me."