A Community Based Program of

Utah Law Related Education

What is Salt Lake Peer Court?

• A prevention / intervention Program utilized by the Salt Lake City School District. Approximately 300 youth are referred to Peer Court each year. Offenses most commonly referred are: chronic truancy, fighting, disorderly conduct, theft, vandalism, harassment, and tobacco

• A three part program: 1) Court Hearings 2) Peer Mentoring 3) Mediation

• An alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system and school disciplinary proceedings using a non-adversarial approach for minor offenses, for youth who are sentenced and mentored by their peers

• A restorative justice approach to hold youth accountable for their actions, to build skills, and to strengthen their ties to school and community

• Empowers youth and communities to take an active role in addressing the early stages of youth delinquency

• Eliminates social barriers and unites youth throughout the community as they collaborate to intervene with referred youth

To read more about Salt Lake Peer Court, visit: www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705309422,00.html

Benefits

• Partnering in preventing juvenile crime

• Empowering youth as stakeholders in their community

• Gaining hands-on knowledge about citizenship and law

• Learning public speaking and leadership skills

• Communities recovering losses due to juvenile crimes

• Communities gaining more confidence in youth

• Reducing juvenile court backlogs