Community action just begins with an arrest
By Jim Sterne
News Editor
“Community action does not end with an arrest,” said Harriet O’Donnell of Beat 1911. “It just begins with the arrest.”
O’Donnell is a Court Advocate, a member of the community who goes to court and shows the judge, the prosecutor, and the offender that the community is interested in the case and supports the prosecution. “And the court reporter enters our presence into the official transcript,” O’Donnell said.
“When our case is called, we stand up and let everyone know we are not going to tolerate crime in our neighborhood,” O’Donnell said. The advocate wears a badge that says “Court Advocate” so no personal name is given. “And they know we’ll follow a case to 13th and Michigan or 26th and California” she added.
Court advocates are trained to do their job so they can be very effective. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, a new advocacy training session begins, hosted by Area 3 (police districts 18, 19, 20, 23, and 24, which cover roughly the North Side of Chicago).
The brief training session is for people interested in learning more about criminal court procedures; the various roles of corporation counsel, state’s attorneys, public defenders, and private defense counsel; different kinds of court hearings; victim and witness assistance; sentencing guidelines; and opportunities for community involvement after an arrest has been made.
“We are concerned with the type of cases that are important to the neighborhood,” O’Donnell said. “We don’t usually do animal cases or domestic violence cases. Juvenile cases are handled differently because the thinking is that a juvenile should get another chance.”
The cases that she and the CAPS court advocates are interested in are crimes of opportunity, burglary and theft, or drug related crimes which are on the rise. “In my beat, 1911, crimes are more inclined towards drug dealing, criminal damage to property, and battery. There are a number of incidents that are near Welles Park,” O’Donnell said. “There’s been public drinking, drugs, and attempts of juvenile molestation. An advocate makes the criminal know we know him or her and we want this activity to stop.”
The training familiarizes the trainee with court room protocol and court procedures. A trainee learns the language of the court system, who’s who in the court room, how to follow a court case, and the difference between misdemeanors and felonies.
The Court Advocacy Training on Wednesday, Oct. 23, is at the First Municipal Court, Branch 29, 2452 W. Belmont Ave. Registration is at 6:45 p.m. and the meeting starts promptly at 7 p.m. The training ends at approximately 8:30-8:45 p.m. Parking is available. Training is free of charge but pre-registration is necessary. Attendees will receive a complete Court Advocacy Manual.
Presenters at the session will include a judge, assistant state’s attorney, Chicago corporation counsel, attorneys, and experienced Court Advocates.
Call your local police district to pre-register: 18th District, (312) 742-5778; 19th District, (312) 733-5574; 20th District, (312) 744-4718; 23rd District, (312) 744-0064, 24th District, (312) 744-6321.
If you do not know which district you live in, call 311 or go to the City of Chicago’s Web site (www.cityofchicago.org) to find out.
“This is a way people can be proactive in their community. Many times putting away one offender clears about 20 cases from the books because one burglar can do a lot of stealing,” O’Donnell said. |
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