Orange County implements misdemeanor diversion program

Teenagers arrested in Orange County could face less detrimental consequences than in other places in North Carolina thanks to the Misdemeanor Diversion Program launched April 14.

The program, designed by Chief District Court Judge Marcia Morey for Durham County in 2014, allows officers to refer 16- and 17-year-olds committing their first criminal offenses to court sessions and educational programs that teach the consequences of an actual criminal charge instead of filing formal arrest reports.

“We’re the only state in the country besides New York that at 16 you’re considered to be an adult,” Morey said. “A criminal charge can really hurt people in the future, so we thought it was important to help teens rather than punish them.”

Greg Newburn, state policy director for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said North Carolina has particularly tough sentencing laws that can be harmful for minors committing their first offenses.

“Say a teenager takes Mom’s Oxycodone pills and goes to a party,” Newburn said. “If it’s above the trafficking limit, which is really low, they can face 15-20 years in prison.”

Newburn said even a simple arrest can be damaging.

“Even if you’re innocent and you’ve been arrested, your mugshots still follow you,” he said. “If an employer Googles you and sees a mugshot, sometimes it doesn’t matter if you were convicted or not.”

Morey said since the Durham program’s inception two years ago, only five of the 200 participants have been unsuccessful.

Caitlin Fenhagen, criminal justice resource manager for Orange County, said plans to implement the program in Orange County began in earnest in November 2015. She said Orange County has followed Durham’s model pretty closely, with one main difference.

“Our main difference is that we have two law enforcement liaisons working with me as the MDP coordinator,” Fenhagen said.

“We decided to include them because one of the concerns in Durham is that officers on the street and in the schools retain discretion on whether to refer people to the program or to arrest them, and we wanted to make sure all of our law enforcement officers in Orange County supported this and could divert as many eligible teenagers as possible.”

In Orange County’s system, officers send the referral to their liaison who then forwards it to the Misdemeanor Diversion Program coordinator.

“The hardest thing has been to make sure as many officers know and understand how to divert people to MDP,” Fenhagen said.

“We’re hopeful that right off the bat, because of our liaisons, we will have a larger number of people being referred to the program.”

Newburn said although programs like Misdemeanor Diversion can allow police officers to use their discretion on whether or not a person is dangerous, it should give the same power to prosecutors and judges.

“If you’re 17 years old and you’ve been picked up for pills and a police officer decides not to divert you and you go to trial and you’re convicted, a judge should be able to still divert you after trial and help you and not ruin your life,” he said.

Overall, he said the program gives teenagers a second chance.

“Anything that increases the decision making power to the actors in the situation is helpful,” Newburn said. “Discretion at all points is going to increase the likelihood that we get it right.”

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