– Legal News photo by Diana L. Coleman
By Diana L. Coleman
Legal News
The Muskegon Chapter of Exchange Club International recently recognized the volunteers who dedicated their time and expertise to presenting its crime prevention program to area students, now in its thirty-seventh year. The program focuses on the education of Muskegon County children about the impact even minor criminal acts can have on their futures.
Participants were given certificates of appreciation and praised for their contributions at a luncheon June 25. Cynthia Shyne and Johnny Jemerson, co-chairs of this year’s program, thanked those who took time from their busy schedules to make the program successful. Members of the Muskegon County Bar Association, the local judiciary, probation and parole officers, and law enforcement officials continue to give strong support to the vital program.
The program was originally designed to reach high school students. In 2007, the Exchange Club decided it was time to refocus the program and direct the criminal justice education to area middle school students. When this transition from high school to middle school students took place in 2007, Frank Scott, retired State of Michigan parole/probation officer said, “By the time the kids reached high school, many of them had already been exposed to or enticed into criminal behavior. We felt it was better to try to reach them at the middle school age in the hope of preventing any criminal activity.”
Area middle schools taking part in the program this year were Muskegon Heights, Reeths Puffer, West Shore Lutheran, Oakridge, Mona Shores, Ravenna, Muskegon Christian, North Muskegon, Timberland Academy, Holton, M-Tec, and Muskegon Technical Institute. Shyne said, “The feedback from the school staff has been extremely positive this year.” The exposure to the valuable information provided by police and parole officers, judges, and attorneys makes a huge impact on some of the students who may be unaware of the negative effect one mistake or act can have on the rest of their lives.
The Exchange Club Crime Prevention Program committee members donate many volunteer hours working with the schools and the legal/law enforement experts coordinating the dates for presentations at Muskegon County schools. It is not an easy task to see that each school has a representative from the branches of the criminal justice system on the day of their program. It takes approximately 300 volunteer man-hours to complete the presentations.
For most students, it is their first contact with judges, attorneys, and correction workers. Since their life experience will probably lead them to court as a juror, witness, plaintiff, defendant, or victim, they will benefit from the information they receive from the speakers regardless of their life circumstances. Some students pick up vocational information and indicate an interest in pursuing a career in criminal justice.
Each speaker brings a message to the students concerning their areas of expertise in the criminal justice system and the role they play. They describe their responsibilities, job details, what made them go into the criminal justice field as a profession, and the qualifications for the profession.
Speakers explain what happens when someone comes into the criminal justice system after being charged with a felony or misdemeanor, and the effects of the crime, the process of arrest, arraignment, posting bond, and other aspects of criminal behavior. They also stress that many people are hurt in the process; for example, parents might have to sell their homes to post bond and jeopardize the entire family’s security.
Students are taught how criminal behavior during the teen years can follow a person through life and limit some of the opportunities that are available to individuals without a criminal record.
The program’s inception was in 1975 when then Exchange Club President, Tom Brown, an Irish-American architect, wanted to develop a program to make an impact on young people in Muskegon. He discussed the “Scared Straight” program with Tom Powers, another Exchange member, who was a school principal in the Mona Shores system. They came to the conclusion that it was impossible to transport over 2000 county students to the county jail, the three (1975) courts, and the Muskegon Correctional Facility to observe the criminal justice system. They conferred with then Prosecutor Jerry Warner, and Assistant Prosecutor Ronald Pannucci, Judges Grimm and Linck, and several detectives. It was determined that the best course of action was to take the program to the students at their schools.
The first session was a lecture format with each resource person speaking for a short time. Unfortunately, few students asked questions so after further conferences, it was decided to use a two-hour period with students divided into smaller groups and speakers rotating to all groups. This greatly increased student interaction, taking away the intimidation students were feeling asking questions in front of an entire assembly.
Exchange Club members have always enjoyed recruiting speakers and introducing them.
This year’s Crime Prevention Program co-chairs are both retired. Cynthia Shyne was a Muskegon Community College instructor and Johnny Jemerson was a State Corrections Officer.
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