Why is the D.A.s Office involved in a youth mentoring program?
Habitual truancy is a significant predictor of juvenile crime and gang involvement. An analysis by the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office indicates that on school days, about 25 percent of all juvenile crimes are committed during school hours and in locations other than school campuses. These crimes are attributed to truant and suspended students. To combat the increase in truancy among Memphis City Schools, the D.A.’s Office has designed a program to match adult mentors with habitually truant youths in three pilot Memphis City Schools: Chickasaw Middle School, Cypress Middle School and Hickory Ridge Middle School. In lieu of prosecution for truancy, and with the parents’ consent, these students are ordered by the Shelby County Juvenile Court to participate in the program.
