COMPASS

The foundation of the COMPASS Mission is to use the power of the State Attorney in partnership with community policing, local service providers, and the energy of the residents to focus services to help young people become resistant to negative influences and develop positive futures. It is my belief that any time we invest in helping young people is time well spent. We began our community based prosecution program in October 1999 with the creation of the State Attorney Safe Schools Programs. It is now our intention to replicate the same program in selected communities in Pinellas County. We will work with law enforcement and community service providers to offer the first community based restorative justice program in five test focus communities in Pinellas County.

To help accomplish this, my office has just applied for federal funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, to pay for two experienced Assistant State Attorneys who will be co-located in the central office and in community policing substations in the focus communities. The emphasis of the COMPASS program is on reducing the number of juveniles prosecuted by diverting these offenders to community based work programs and classes conducted by our community partners to help these young people learn how to make better choices. Our Director of Community Programs will be working in these communities to establish Community Justice Panels. These restorative justice panels will make recommendations on the number of days and the types of work programs the COMPASS clients will perform in the community. In this structured community service program, the clients will be working in the community to restore its faith in them while they restore the community through their efforts. Members of the community will have a chance to play a part in improving the self image and community commitment of these young people.

The partners in this program are the most important part of a very powerful team.  They fall in three categories.  The first are our law enforcement partners.  The test communities are served by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and the Clearwater Police Department.  Both agencies have agreed to provide space in their Community Policing Sub-Stations for my assistant state attorneys to meet with families, community leaders, and police officers.

The City of Clearwater has been a leader in the Community Policing Concept in Pinellas County. Some time ago, the Chief of Police approached the State Attorney about applying for federal assistance to implement community prosecutors in the Clearwater Weed and Seed Area. That application was unsuccessful. It is only natural that they should head the list of potential sites to test the program. The Chief of Police has agreed to make space available in each of his community policing sub-stations for the COMPASS attorneys to use when they are in the community providing training, consultation, investigative services, or mentoring. In addition, the COMPASS attorneys will be in constant contact with the community policing units through radios provided by the department.

The Director of Community Programs will be integrated into the Community Policing Effort to provide assistance to officers and attorneys in scheduling diversion appointments, training, and most importantly, the establishment of COMPASS Justice Panels. These Panels are composed of citizens who will play a major role in facilitating the reestablishment of trust between the compass clients and the community. The Panels will assist in the restoration  of the COMPASS clients' self-esteem. The total program is designed to increase the amount of communication between the neighborhoods and the prosecutor’s office.

Clearwater Police Department has been building partnerships with the community for a long time. The COMPASS program will now become a part of that partnership with dedicated staff from the State Attorney’s Office  joining Chief Klein, the residents, and the Community Policing Teams to make the Weed and Seed Area even safer.

Focus Community 1 will be the Wood Valley and Jasmine Court Community Policing Area.   The COMPASS Team will work with the CPT Team and the many neighborhood groups that are active in the Community Policing Initiative. The Community Provider for Focus Community 1 will be the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Suncoast. They will be responsible for transportation and mentoring of young people assigned to the COMPASS Workdays. They will also provide a six-week program called PATHFINDER. This twice a week course, which is conducted in the evening, in the community is designed to help teach young people how to make healthy, lawful, decisions.

COMPASS Community 2 and 3 are in the Clearwater Weed and Seed Program Area. The map outlines the area, which includes four specific service areas for the COMPASS Program.

Focus Community 2: The Old Clearwater Bay and the North Greenwood Community Policing units will be provided service by COMPASS at the North Greenwood Substation.

Focus Community 3: The Downtown Bike Patrol and the South Greenwood Community Policing units will be provided service by COMPASS at the South Greenwood Substation.

Each of the Clearwater Policing Sub-Stations has adequate space for COMPASS Attorneys and the Director of Community Programs to conduct family meetings, investigations with officers, and have access to information systems that are needed for State Attorney Operations in the field. Each of the attorneys and the Director will be supplied with Clearwater Police Radios and be equipped with networked cell phones that will link them directly to the Community Policing Supervisors.

COMPASS Focus Community 4: Starkey Road Community Policing District, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, District 2

The final focus community is indicated in the map. It is the Starkey Road Community Policing Area serviced by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. There are four Community Policing Officers assigned to the area and work hand in hand with the normal patrol deputies assigned to the area. The Community Policing District has accomplished some incredible things over the past year to enhance the level of unity and safety amongst neighborhood residents. The Crime Prevention Program has two officers assigned to work in this District. There is a high degree of justice/community joint decision making to resolve problems in the community. The population is diversified and a majority of the residents in the area own their own property. The area has been going through a gradual positive transition for the past three years.

The PCSO Community Policing Sub-Station is located in the Fire Station and has adequate space to provide the COMPASS attorneys and the Director with the necessary space for family meetings, investigations, and coordinated training.

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Suncoast

Mission: To inspire and enable young people of Pinellas County, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast is the fastest growing youth development organization in Pinellas County. With five locations serving upwards of 5,000 children annually, the Boys & Girls Clubs provide daily after school community support that prevents crime and delinquency, enables academic and other educational goals to be met, and develops leaders. The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Suncoast have been active partners in programs in the designated sites and were eager to sign on as full partners. They will contract with Envision Learning Corporation to provide the Pathfinder Program for those young people who demonstrate a need to develop better decision making skills that promote self esteem, citizenship, and empathy for the needs and positions of others.

The YMCA of the Suncoast has been in existence for over 40 years. The YMCA of the Suncoast is comprised of 8 YMCA facilities in Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando Counties. The branch facilities are located in Clearwater, High Point, Bardmoor, Ridgecrest, North Pinellas (Lansbrook), Spring Hill, and two in west Pasco County. Each branch is distinctly different because each serves a distinctly different community.

The Bardmoor YMCA will serve as the Focal Point for the COMPASS Service.

On May 13, 2002, the Office of the State Attorney received the award letter from the U.S. Department of Justice to fund the two assistant state attorneys that will be working in the five focus communities. The program, which began on April 2, 2002 has already established Community Justice Boards in all five communities and conducted their first sessions for diverted offenders. The attorneys have reviewed over 300 referrals in the first few months of the program and community work days, known as COMPASS Corps Days have been conducted in the North Greenwood and Jasmine Court communities. More are scheduled in Wood Valley, South Greenwood and Starkey Road