Section 32 Community based juvenile justice programs; district attorneys - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 32. (a) The district attorneys in the Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire/Franklin, Norfolk, Plymouth, Bristol, Cape and Islands and Berkshire counties shall operate community based juvenile justice programs in order to coordinate efforts of the criminal justice system in addressing juvenile justice through cooperation with the schools and local law enforcement representatives, probation and court representatives and, where appropriate, the department of children and families, department of youth services and department of mental health.

(b) A district attorney’s community based juvenile justice program shall identify cases in which juvenile offenders are among those most likely to pose a threat to their community. The program shall treat the identified cases as priority prosecution cases and impose individualized sanctions designed to deter the offender from further criminal or delinquent conduct. The office of the district attorney shall work with the schools and community representatives on development of violence prevention and intervention programs, identification, protocol and curricula.

(c) The offices of the district attorneys shall conduct weekly working sessions focusing on specific events and particular individuals whose conduct poses a threat to schools, neighborhoods and communities. The district attorneys shall be responsible for creating, managing and updating a priority prosecution list of individuals identified as the community’s most serious violent youths and repeat offenders and shall update the list as events may happen and the individual is moved through the criminal justice system.

(d) The district attorneys shall assign prosecutors to the community based juvenile justice program who shall treat the identified cases as their priority cases and shall work with the school, courts and other agencies to deter violent, criminal or delinquent conduct. The offices of the district attorneys shall be responsible for managing the lists, compiling and publishing statistics, coordinating meetings with the assistant district attorneys assigned to the program and local law enforcement agencies, schools, probation and court representatives and, where appropriate, the department of social services, department of youth services and department of mental health.

(e) The district attorneys operating such programs shall participate in a community based juvenile justice program task force for the purpose of sharing information on the practices and developments of violence prevention and prosecution in their particular programs and such task force shall submit an annual report on each program, including statistics and findings, to the house and senate committees on ways and means on or before February 1 each year.