Mercer County
Community Court Program


Program Overview


 

Community Court is Mercer County’s juvenile diversionary initiative that redirects first-time, low-level offenders away from formal court processing. The Community Court utilizes committees consisting of community volunteers and the Juvenile Justice System in a collaborative approach to achieve the goals of decreasing juvenile crime by holding youth accountable for their offenses while instilling competency development skills. The committees hold youth accountable with terms and conditions of an informal adjustment which include probation supervision, payment of supervision fee, restoration of the victim, and any other services deemed necessary to address risk or needs of the youth. Participating youth are supervised by the Community Specialist, and their requirements are monitored monthly by the Community Court committees consisting of volunteers who are from their own community of residence. Once a youth has successfully completed the process in whole, the alleged charges are dismissed. The Community Court Program is comprised of five Community Courts throughout Mercer County, with three to ten community volunteers serving on each committee. The Community Court volunteers hear and make recommendations on cases. The objective of the Community Court Program is to provide early and appropriate intervention within the juvenile’s own neighborhood, and in a manner that minimizes the likelihood that the youth will reoffend.