FOLEY, Ala. - Two delicate topics, juvenile delinquents and domestic violence instances, took center stage Thursday during the third class of the Citizen Police Academy hosted by the Foley Police Department.

    Foley PD juvenile investigator Glenn Hartenstein and Foley PD school reserve officer Labron Williams attended the first half of the class, and residents in the program learned the process for juvenile offenders and when a juvenile can be tried as an adult.

    Hartenstein defined juveniles into three categories: delinquents, a youth who commits an act that would be criminal if committed by an adult; status offenders and children in need of supervision, a juvenile who breaks a curfew law or runs away from home; and dependent or neglected children, a youth in need of support.

    If a juvenile is taken into custody, he or she is read the miranda rights and will be informed he or she can have an attorney and the parents.

    "We do everything we can to get their parents or advise their parents that we have their child," Hartenstein said.

    Officers exercise levels of discretion when dealing with juvenile offenders, Hartenstein said. The options are: release and warn the offender; release and file a report; take the youth to the police station and make a referral to a community youth-services agency, such as the Baldwin Youth Services; refer to juvenile court intake with or without detention, which is the temporary jailing of youths who are awaiting disposition of their cases. The purpose of detention is to decide whether to release a child to his or her parents or retain in custody. The choice made by police usually regards the seriousness of the crime. If the youth is referred to juvenile court, a probation officer determines if a petition should be filed against the juvenile. If so, the juvenile comes before a judge in a hearing.

    "During the hearing, a juvenile judge tries to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the juvenile is a delinquent," Hartenstein said.

    If a judge finds the youth a delinquent, he or she will determine the punishment, whether it be placing on probating or placing in an institution. Other options the judge could take include: foster homes and halfway houses.

    Juveniles usually are not tried as adults, but there are some cases when age does not matter, Hartenstein said. These instances when a 16 or 17 year old is tried as an adult include: a capitol offense such as murder; a class A felony; a felony involving the use of a deadly weapon; the trafficking of drugs; a felony involving cause of death or serious injury; any criminal act, offense or violation committed by a child under the age of 18 who has been previously convicted a youthful offender.

    Sometimes a resident 18 years old or above can be tried in juvenile court, Hartenstein said. An example Hartenstein gave is when a 19 year old buys alcohol for a 17 year old, which is contributing to delinquency.

    Domestic violence

    Richard Humphrey, Foley PD domestic violence investigator, gave a lecture on domestic violence occurrences, which he said was dangerous because "emotions are high" in the situations.

    "Domestic violence is something I've wrestled with for 20 years," he said.

    He gave about domestic violence crimes and women:

    • each nine seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten in the United States.

    • domestic violence is the leading cause of injuries to women.

    • each day in the United States, there is five or more women murdered by their husband or boyfriend.

    A difficult part about responding to domestic violence instances, Humphrey said, is victims do not stop it because they do not want the boyfriend or husband arrested or charged.

    "In most instances, when they are arrested and nothing else, they bond out, go home and it repeats itself," Humphrey said, noting if it ends, it usually ends when the victim realizes the children are being affected by the violence. "We want to make people understand it's not okay with us."

    Humphrey also said many people believe alcohol is a primary cause of domestic violence.

    "Alcohol is not what causes it," Humphrey said, noting he believes a sense of control drives domestic violence.

    Humphrey said if everyone the offender encounters tells he or she that the act was wrong, the offender will "run into a wall," but if anyone offers a window of justification for the offender, he or she will take it.

    "It is the only way you can get to (domestic violence offenders), otherwise they will continue doing what they're doing," Humphrey said.