DA floats cell-phone ban for youth on probation - Beaumont Enterprise

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Corey Spencer was 14 when he fatally shot a pregnant woman during a robbery outside a Beaumont apartment complex. He’s now serving a life sentence for murder.

Three other local teenagers — West Brook High School students who range in age from 15 to 18 — are awaiting trial in another high-profile homicide, the shooting death last year of West End business owner Anthony Wilson.

Police Chief James Singletary says violent juvenile crime is indeed on the rise, calling it “the most alarming trend in Beaumont.”

That has local officials talking about a novel approach to deterrence: taking away teenagers’ cell phones when they get in trouble, before the crimes they are accused of can escalate to something more serious.

“We’re just trying to come up with ideas that could work,” Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham said. “We’re just trying to make the county safer.”

Wortham said he and Beaumont City Councilman Mike Getz were talking about Spencer’s sentencing last December when Getz suggested taking away cell phones as a condition of probation for lesser crimes.

Wortham said prosecutors have limited options for teenagers who are not certified to stand trial as an adult, as Spencer was for his role in the 2017 shooting death of Kera Teel.

“If teens aren’t certified as adults, then all we can do is probation,” he said. “The state took away our juvenile detention facility, which limited us.”

At least one local defense attorney is skeptical about the legality and potential effectiveness of such a proposal.

“I have real reservations about how that would be executed,” Ryan Gertz said. “When someone is under probation, they do not give up their constitutional rights. I can see there being a issue with free speech and right to express one’s self. If the use of a cellphone is tied to the crime itself, then we can talk. If you are caught taking pictures up the skirts of women, we could talk about a phone ban.”

Gertz said some of his clients who are under federal probation are allowed to have a cell phone, but are banned from possessing smart phones.

According to a 2018 Pew Research survey, 95% of teens reported having a smartphone or access to one.

The district attorney said he believes threatening teens’ access to mobile devices will be enough to put a dent in the crime rate.

“Take away the most important thing to them, and you never know,” Wortham said.

State District Judge Larry Thorne, one of the county’s two juvenile judges a a member of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s advisory council, said the courts will sometimes give parents orders as part of their child’s probation, which is Wortham’s preferred method.

“The phone belongs on the children or their parents,” Thorne said. “I haven’t researched it, but it might be something we can control through the parents.”

He added, “If we feel like a child is able to get away with anything with their parents, we will give them orders that they must follow. We tell them they have to make sure their children are on the bus if they need to be on the bus. The parents will have to make sure their children are in by their curfew. If the parents don’t follow these orders, they could be held in contempt.”

Gertz said he disagrees with using court orders for parents, but said the method is common in truancy cases.

“That is a whole separate problem,” he said. “Holding a parent in contempt for the child’s actions could be a problem. They do it all the time, so I am sure it has been tested in the courts. But I personally don’t like it.”

One issue the court could run into is enforcing the probation term, Thorne said.

“If we take away a phone, the child will likely have four more phones at school or find a friend who is not on probation and use their phone,” he said. “For many children and parents, cell phones are necessary for communication.”

Gertz warned that simply enforcing the probation could be a breach of constitutional rights.

“I don’t know how they would know a child is not using a phone,” he said. “They would have to subpoena phone records or something like that. I also don’t know how practical it is in deterring crime. I guess it might get their attention. But someone who is going to intentionally violate their probation will do it anyway.”

Singletary said his department is trying to find ways to combat the trend as well by partnering with the nonprofit organization Inspire, Encourage, Achieve.

“We have 14 officers who volunteer for outreach to young people,” he said. “We have to try and reach some of these kids. I see some of the 13- and 14-year-olds that my officers are interviewing and they have no remorse. You feel like some of them don’t have a chance. We’re losing a generation. It’s not our main job, but I feel like we have a responsibility to do a little more.”

Thorne said other areas are experiencing a rise in juvenile crime.

“Many other counties in Texas are facing the same thing,” he said. “I appreciate Wortham’s effort. At least he is thinking of ideas. I think it is going to take a statewide effort. We all have to keep working on it.”

chris.moore@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/chris_moore09

2020-03-09 22:43:00Z
https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/DA-floats-cell-phone-ban-for-youth-on-probation-15118156.php