JUVENILE DIVISION

The Juvenile Division is part of the Operational Support Bureau. This division is responsible for School Resource Officers, Crisis Intervention Services Unit, Teen Driver Challenge, Explorer Program, and the D.A.R.E and W.I.L.A. Programs.

• S.R.O. (School Resource Officer)

• Crisis Intervention Services Unit

• Teen Drivers Challenge

• Explorer Program

D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a program where the Marion County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officers teach a series of twelve classroom lessons to approximately 2,500 Fifth Grade elementary school children on how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.

W.I.L.A. (Work In Lieu of Arrest) is a diversionary program designed to offer first-time juvenile misdemeanants an alternative to arrest while still providing immediate consequences. To successfully complete the program, participants must work 20 hours spread across five Saturdays, at the Sheriff’s Office Inmate Work Farm. This one-time alternative keeps youthful offenders out of the court system and allows them to avoid a permanent criminal record.