Juvenile First Offender Program

The Juvenile First Offender Program is authorized by the State of Florida to divert youth, who commit a criminal violation for the first time, completely out of the criminal justice system. The program accomplishes this by withholding all original arrest paperwork and fingerprint cards.

There are several criterion that must be met for eligibility into the program. One of which is the juvenile must be a resident of Boynton Beach. Another, is the offense committed can not be considered serious or violent. Once all the criteria has been met, an interview is scheduled with the juvenile and his/her family. The juvenile must be willing to admit guilt, sign a statement waiving his/her rights to due process., have a good attitude, and be willing to participate in the program. The program involves doing community service, attending parent/teen counseling sessions, a jail tour, attending Youth Court (a courtroom experience which is run by juveniles), writing essays, letters of apology and possible random drug testing. Once all sanctions are completed, the juvenile is then monitored for the remainder of the program, which is typically 1 year. Upon successful completion of the program, the juvenile is then withdrawn from the program. If the juvenile fails to complete the program, then all original arrest paperwork is sent to the State Attorney's Office for filing.

For more information about the program, please feel free to contact our J.F.O. Coordinator, Ofc. R. Kellman at (561)742-6849

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random facts

Retired Boynton Beach Police Officer Andy Rosenberg headed our J.F.O. program for many years.  He was so committed to the program, that he actually wrote two masters' theses which outlined the success of the program and the low recidivism rate of program participants.

"A Tradition of Law Enforcement Excellence"