Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 02/98) - High school students in Hay River are getting more teens involved in the court sentencing process in an effort to keep their peers out of jail.

More than 60 Grade 10-12 students sit on a justice panel which makes sentencing recommendations to the judge. The program has been so successful, teens in Fort Smith are trying the same tactic.

J.J. Sinclair, who was involved in the program when it was started in January 1997, said he learned a lot from spending time in the courtroom.

"Just the knowledge of the court system...and seeing the offender being tried -- their friends watching them can be quite awkward. That's an awkward feeling," he said.

This could act as a deterrent, he added.

Jacquie Richards, liaison for the courts and the students in Hay River, said the panel opens the teenagers' eyes to what the justice system is all about.

"They sit on a disposition panel that sits in court, and then they go into the jury room and put out some recommendations for the judge," she said. "And, most of the time, he follows their proposals."

Not unlike a jury, the youth appear in court in groups of 12. They are only consulted in cases when the youths have pleaded guilty to crimes.

Hay River youths had been the first in the country to try this initiative.

But, several months ago, youths in Fort Smith took on the same project and entered the courtroom to have their say in how their peers were getting sentenced.

Sue Ward, a counsellor at PW Kaeser high school who organized the panel, said the 35 students involved in the program are learning a lot about the justice system and the ramifications of committing crimes.

But, she also said it's too early to tell how the panel has impacted the amount of youth crime in the community.

"To make a blanket statement that it keeps them out of trouble...it's too premature."

Ward went on to say that part of the reason for this is the type of students who are interested in the panel.

"The students who sign up aren't necessarily the ones who would be doing break and enters," he said.