CLEVELAND — A specialized docket in adult court is now expanding to juvenile court to try and keep guns out of the hands of children.
The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court’s Violence Intervention Program (VIP) was started in 2018 by Administrative and Presiding Judge Brendan Sheehan; the program will start in juvenile court next year.
VIP is designed to assist people who are arrested with a weapon but did not use the weapon in a crime. The program works to prevent felony offenders with gun-related specifications from becoming a gun-violence statistic, according to the court.
“We’re catching these young men at 19, 20, 21 coming into our court and my vision was we have to catch them earlier, “ explained Sheehan.
The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court’s VIP Alliance received a four-year, $2 million grant from the Department of Justice. The Bureau of Justice Affairs’ Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative grant was awarded in partnership with the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.
Sheehan said he came up with the VIP docket idea in 2018. He said it brings together the judicial team, probation department, trauma team, employment group and Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance to help.
“I’m really excited Cleveland Peacemakers work in both the juvenile and adult justice system, and so having outreach workers in both systems and now having the opportunity to bring them closer together,” said Myesha Watkins, Executive Director Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance.
In a joint written statement, Judge Sheehan and Juvenile Court Administrative Judge Thomas F. O’Malley said in part, “Criminal gun activity is a challenge that is very important to both courts, as we see the impact it has on our community every day. This grant will allow us to examine how trauma impacts a young person’s decision-making related to guns and gun violence, to provide intensive interventions to young offenders through a multidisciplinary approach while reducing risk factors that contribute to gun activity, and to address critical gaps within our system.”
The juvenile court VIP is set to start in January. It is a pilot program for four years.
