Tuckahoe Village Departments

TUCKAHOE TALK
With Mayor John Fitzpatrick

JUVENILE JUSTICE

May, 2008

One recent Sunday afternoon an interesting event unfolded outside the window of my dining room. Sunday is the day I take an hour or so to hatch out some thoughts for my column. Since the warm weather had arrived, the windows were open and the sounds of neighborhood kids were definitely in the air. However, being in such deep thought, I missed that the level of their voices had increased to indicate something else was happening. This phenomenon didn’t escape my wife’s super motherly senses, and she quickly pointed out that something was amiss. I stood up from my computer and at that moment a teenager threw something in my bushes and quickly ran away. Many teenagers were still on the street yelling so I decided to venture outside. At that moment, Tuckahoe Police also arrived on the scene. While the officer assessed the situation on the street, I went over to my bushes, where I found a black paint ball gun lying on the ground. I called over the officer, who quickly scooped it up and locked it in his truck. He asked if I could identify the youth but I was only able to inform him what he was wearing. The rest of my neighbors were also on the street at this point and proceeded to report to the officer that, in addition to the paintball shooters, other kids were shooting BB rifles out the windows of a nearby home. The officers quickly swooped up all the little culprits and confiscated some guns.

The next day, Chief Costanzo gave me my typical Monday briefing on the weekend’s events. To be honest, he usually just informs me that nothing of interest has occurred. This day however, he not only imparted the event I had witnessed but another similar, yet unconnected occurrence from Friday night. It seems several teens were running around in the woods behind Crestwood Station shooting at each other with BB guns. Again, officers were quick to respond and several BB rifles and BB handguns were confiscated. The weapons from all the incidents were lying on a table in the Detective bureau office. The realization of what a recipe for disaster this was hit me. Teens in the dark with even BB guns can easily be mistaken for gun toting criminals. It is difficult enough for police officers arriving at any scene to assess threat levels without BB guns and paintball guns being added into the equation. Too often we read of the tragic aftermath of just such a police shooting. Since much has been written and even more pontificated on this subject lately, I’ll only add that the behavior of these kids endangers not only themselves and our Police Officers, but also innocent little children who could be struck and seriously injured.

The reason for this article is to outline how youth offenses are addressed in Tuckahoe. As Mayor and as a parent, I want participants of incidents such as these punished before they escalate into something even more serious. So I inquired of the Chief, “Who dispenses the justice in these cases?” This question had me recalling the fear of the dreaded “JD” card from my younger days in Brooklyn. As I look back at those who received these cards, most were exactly what the card stated; “Juvenile Delinquents” and many later became adult delinquents. Personally, if I was ever a participant in any event that rose to the level of police involvement, the justice my Father would have administered still has me shifting in my chair. Unfortunately, for some reason, society seems unable to count on that kind of homeland security any longer.

According to Our Chief all youth incidents that don’t rise to the level of criminal offenses, and sometimes even those that are marginal, are referred to the Youth Officers for discipline. Then all the parents and offenders are spoken to and a larger assessment of the situation is obtained. The Youth Officers can refer any complaint to Family Court, and since we don’t have our own, that would mean a trip before a Yonkers Family Court Judge. This would start a little record on those continually in trouble with the law, but that would disappear upon reaching adulthood. Some of these parents having to retain an attorney has a built-in monetary punishment for the family, but is the public truly being served? The Chief also informed me that the Youth Officers may deem community service to be an option. Our Youth Officers are Detective John Cuccinello, Sergeant Peggy Belles and Officer John Zocchi. These officers not only have the respect of the youth in our Village but parents and fellow officers as well. They have taught many of the Village’s children at the D.A.R.E. Program. Sgt. Belles also runs the National Night Out Against Crime and additionally coordinates several youth based programs, such as the Police/Youth Softball game and barbeque and Bicycle Safety Day. This type of continuity is essential in assessing which of our youth may be in danger or which pose a danger. So having Tuckahoe’s Police Youth Division ultimately as the dispenser of this justice makes perfect sense. I personally feel community service is a fitting sentence if it wakes kids up. You can rest assured I voiced my opinion in this case, so when you see the group of kids cleaning a park with police officer accompaniment, you now know exactly who they are.