The Juvenile Justice Unit of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office prosecutes juveniles for acts of delinquency that include murder and other offenses that if committed by an adult would be indictable offenses. The goals of the Unit are to ensure public safety through swift and certain punishment of the violent and repetitive delinquent; to reduce recidivism through accountability and recommendations for structured supervision; and to divert minor offenders away from delinquency, thereby reducing the need for further court action. Ultimately, the goal is to stop recidivism and break the escalating and intensifying cycle of delinquency.

The Code of Juvenile Justice (N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-23) defines delinquency to include the commission of an act by an individual under age 18 which if committed by an adult would constitute a crime; a disorderly persons offense or petty disorderly persons offense; or the violation of any other penal statute, ordinance or regulation, excluding motor vehicle, curfew, and smoking in public. (These cases are heard in municipal court.)

Ultimately, the Juvenile Justice Unit is responsible for the prosecution or other disposition of all formal complaints charging acts of juvenile delinquency in Essex County. Eight assistant prosecutors assigned to four juvenile courts handle individual court calendars at various stages in the prosecution process - from the detention stage through weekly call calendar (plea conference), waiver applications, hearings, trial and ultimate disposition. The Juvenile Justice Unit uses a "vertical prosecution" model. Simply put, an Assistant Prosecutor is responsible for a case from start to finish. The Juvenile Justice Unit prepares, investigates, screens and litigates all delinquency cases that are heard before the court. This differs from the regular (adult) Trial Section. The regular Trial Section is compartmentalized and uses a horizontal prosecution model. Under the horizontal model, different sections of the Prosecutor's Office handle the same case at different stages in the prosecution process. Vertical prosecution helps to move juvenile cases through the court very rapidly. The Juvenile Justice Unit performs all of the screening functions of the adult Municipal unit. It argues the State's "bail"/ detention hearing recommendations, comparable to adult proceedings in the CJP Court; and also performs trial preparation and litigation functions.

In addition to prosecuting cases in court, the Unit provides daily legal advice to the twenty-two Juvenile Bureaus within Essex County and offers legal support to the Juvenile Referee Program and other court sponsored initiatives such as the "Alliance for Compliance" (involving intensified supervision of juveniles on probation). The unit also works closely with the local schools that require legal or investigative assistance. Members of the Unit also volunteer to conduct training sessions within the community regarding the consequences of delinquency and gang involvement.

STAFFING: The Juvenile Justice Unit consists of the following staff: eight Assistant Prosecutors who handle the cases that appear before the four juvenile judges; eight Investigators and one Lieutenant/Investigator provides investigative support; two Victim/Witness Counselors provide service to the victims; and an Office Supervisor supervises the clerical staff of seven and manages the Office. In addition, two Assistant Prosecutors handle cases identified as appropriate for the Juvenile Chronic Offender Program (JCOP). JCOP began in 1992 and is designed to effectively identify, target and aggressively prosecute chronic and violent offenders.

The Juvenile Justice Unit belongs to a cluster of related units reporting to a Chief Assistant Prosecutor. These units include the Domestic Violence Unit, Sex Crimes Unit, Megan's Law Unit, Child Abuse Unit, Victim/Witness Office, and SANE Program.

JUVENILE CRIME: In 2008, the Juvenile Trial Unit received delinquency complaints for 4,614 juvenile cases. They prosecuted 3,610 formal cases and violations of probation. In 2009, the Juvenile Trial Unit received delinquency complaints for 4,429 juvenile cases. The Unit prosecuted 3,415 formal cases and violations of probation. Assistant Prosecutors collected $13,746 from forfeited drug transaction proceeds in 2008 and $6,123 in 2009. In 2008, the Juvenile Unit support staff entered 4,614 informal, formal and violation of probation cases into the Juvenile Uniform Recordkeeping Information System (JURIS). There was a decrease in new complaints in 2009 with the support staff entering 4,429 informal, formal and violation of probation cases into JURIS. These numbers reflect new complaints only and not total charges.

The following offense types increased from 2007 to 2009: robbery, homicide, car jacking, criminal restraint, possession of firearms, and violations of probation. The offense type of narcotic possession and distribution, auto theft, assault, sexual offenses, bias incidents, thefts/burglary, other weapons possession, terroristic threats, harassment and criminal mischief decreased between 2007 and 2009. The number of homicides committed by juveniles in 2008 was 2 and 11 in 2009.

Juveniles who are 14 years of age or older and commit serious offenses such as homicide, armed robbery, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated arson and aggravated assault may be transferred or waived to the adult Criminal Division of the Superior Court. In 2008, 44 juvenile waivers were filed and 37 cases were waived to the Criminal Division. In 2009, 82 juvenile waivers were filed and 24 cases were waived to the Criminal Division. While the overall number of offenses committed by juveniles has decreased, waiver filings have increased due to the nature of the offenses committed by juveniles, namely armed robberies, carjackings, aggravated assaults with firearms and homicides.

Juvenile chronic offenders continued to plague the juvenile justice system in Essex County in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, 801 juveniles were reviewed for participation in the Juvenile Chronic Offender Program. Four hundred seventy-two juveniles were accepted for prosecution as chronic offenders. In 2009, 867 juveniles were reviewed for participation in the Juvenile Chronic Offender Program. Four hundred fifty-five juveniles were accepted for prosecution as chronic offenders. Thirty-eight of the juveniles committed to Jamesburg and 1 commitment to the Essex County Correctional Facility were enrollees in the Juvenile Chronic Offender Program in 2008. Fifty-two of the juveniles committed to Jamesburg and 1 commitment to the Essex County Correctional Facility were enrollees in the Juvenile Chronic Offender Program in 2009. Seventy-three of the 99 juveniles placed in Juvenile Justice Commission residential placements in 2008 were chronic offenders. Eighty of the 111 juveniles placed in Juvenile Justice Commission residential placements in 2009 were chronic offenders. One hundred one of the 115 parolees from Jamesburg in 2008 were members of the chronic offender program. Seventy-four of the 103 parolees from Jamesburg in 2009 were members of the chronic offender program.

There were 44 males committed for incarceration to the Juvenile Justice Commission in 2008. One hundred nine juveniles were accepted into residential programs administered by the Juvenile Justice Commission in 2008. One hundred seven were males and 2 were females.

There were 58 commitments for incarceration to the Juvenile Justice Commission in 2009, 54 males and 3 females. One juvenile was committed to the Essex County Corrections Facility. There were 111 placements of probationers into residential programs administered by the Juvenile Justice Commission residential community placements in 2009. One juvenile probationer was placed in Juvenile Justice Commission residential placements twice in 2009 for a total of 110 juvenile probationers. One hundred seven were males and 3 were females.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH & PROACTIVE PREVENTION: The Juvenile Justice Unit seeks to be proactive in the justice system. For the past five years, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office through Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Johnson has been represented on Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Statewide Steering Committee. The JDAI Steering Committee was convened by the Juvenile Justice Commission to create a Risk Screening Tool to be used by intake officers throughout New Jersey to determine whether a juvenile charged with an offense should be detained, or if not, what detention alternatives should the juvenile be placed into pending disposition of the matter. A Risk Screening Tool has been developed by a subcommittee of the JDAI state steering committee and was approved for piloting by the Supreme Court in 2008. Essex County is one of five pilot counties implementing the Risk Screening Tool.

In December 2008, the JDAI State Steering Committee's name was changed to the New Jersey Council on Juvenile Justice System Improvement (NJCJJSI). This committee is a collaboration of juvenile justice partners including the Juvenile Justice Commission, Administrative Office of the Courts and the Judiciary whose mission is to institutionalize the core strategies of JDAI to examine juvenile justice in New Jersey systematically and to promote strategies that improve outcomes from arrest through adjudication and disposition. In 2009 the State of New Jersey became a JDAI Model Site for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Essex County Prosecutor's Office plays an active and vital role in juvenile justice reform in the State of New Jersey as a member of the NJCJJSI and the JDAI Model Site Team.

The Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor of the Juvenile Justice Section, along with members of the Community Justice Program, Gang Intelligence Unit, and legal and investigation staff from other Office units help provide training for law enforcement, educators, parents and community organizations in the recognition of youth at risk of gang involvement, and to assist in the identification of gangs active in Essex County. These efforts at the county level are in conjunction with initiatives implemented by municipal police departments to identify and monitor youth gang activity within their respective communities.

For more information on the juvenile justice system in Essex County, see Frequently Asked Questions.