The Alachua County Teen Court program gives first-time youthful offenders a chance to keep their records clean while allowing teens with aspirations of careers in the criminal justice system a chance to get first-hand experience in the field. The program, which serves youth offenders between the ages of 10-17 when they commit crimes, has been in Alachua County since 1994 and has been run by the Alachua County Sheriff's Office since 1998.
Offenders in the program are referred by the State Attorney's Office and stand trial in a regular courtroom with other teens serving as defense lawyers, jurors and prosecutors. Adult volunteers from the community serve as judges. Elisabeth Edwards, program coordinator, said the youth in the program are not "high level" felons. She said the majority of offenders in the program have been charged with petit theft, drug or alcohol possession, battery or resisting arrest with or without violence. She said the mission of Teen Court is to teach teens accountability and to help keep them from committing more crimes.
"We make them take responsibility for what they have done," Edwards said.
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