Waukegan police will no longer arrest students while they are at school, nor will the department conduct an investigation of a juvenile unless a parent, guardian or attorney is present during questioning.
Interim Police Chief Keith Zupec announced the new policies during a Waukegan City Council meeting Monday at City Hall in the wake of the arrest and incarceration of Waukegan High School freshman Martell Williams, 15, for attempted murder, which turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
Zupec said the juvenile justice system is about rehabilitation. When a judge issues an order regarding a youthful offender, school and doing homework are often mandated as part of the corrective measures. Arresting a youngster in school is contrary to that philosophy. “I’m looking for that second layer of approval to say, ‘Is that the right thing we should be doing at that point in time?’” Zupec said.
Both Zupec and Mayor Ann Taylor said these two new policies are a beginning, not an end. Taylor said more will be discussed at the next council meeting March 21. She said extensive conversations have taken place and will continue. O’Connor said Williams was coerced into confessing to a crime he did not commit. O’Connor said Williams’ mother said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart told her were it not for the video and witnesses saying the teen was playing basketball at Adlai E. Stevenson High School at the time of the crime, he likely would have spent 10 to 20 years in prison.“That is a scary proposition for anybody who has children,” O’Connor said. “I feel there is a sense there could be real change going on.
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