Legal Experts Deliver Teen Law Workshop

The community came out for a free law workshop titled "Teenagers and the Law" Thursday in Montrose.

Criminal defense attorney Philip Barbaro Jr. and officers from the Glendale Police Department and spoke on a range of legal issues confronting teens and young adults.

The discussion focused primarily on drugs, bullying and unsafe driving, which panelists said were the main legal issues affecting local youth. All official agreed that one big help abating these issues was involved, "nosy" parenting, especially regarding internet safety and drug use prevention.

"It's not snooping, it's your job," said narcotics Detective Joe Goree from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station. He described several ways parents can effectively keep tabs on kids, which is the only way to prevent them from getting into legal trouble.

Internet activity is one such area where parents should be "nosy." Officers suggested that parents remove all privacy boundaries and gain total access to their kids' social networking accounts, as well as their cell phones and PDAs. "You need to have your kids' passwords," Goree emphasized.

As for Facebook, parents should be involved there as well. Officer Joe Perez of the Glendale Police Department suggested that parents take an active role in their children's online social networking activity, which is a haven for bullying.

"The best thing is for parents to be involved," Perez said in reference to a child's Facebook account. "Help set it up and understand the privacy settings, ask about new Facebook 'friends.' You need to stay on top of it."

Awareness extends to more than just technology, of course. Good old-fashioned, hands-on investigation is still a useful, too, in terms of keeping tabs and making sure kids aren't involving themselves in any unsavory activities, such as drug use. Goree pointed out parents will never find what they don't look for: "You have to be willing to look."

The 22-year Sheriff's Department veteran has worked at stations all over the county and is a new edition to the Crescenta Valley squad. Though Goree acknowledged the relatively low incidence of drug crimes in the area compared with other parts of the county, he advised parents to be constantly vigilant.

"If you wait too long and they get in too deep, it's hard to get out," Goree warned.

In response to an audience question from Crescenta Valley Town Councilman Harry Leon, the detective elaborated on the signs of teen drug use. In addition to the visible physical effects from using various drugs, Goree mentioned a few techniques to help keep parents in the know.

He advised waiting up for teens who've been out partying and to become familiar with drug paraphernalia such as tin foil used for smoking heroin, cigarette lighters and small plastic baggies.

The physical signs of drug use only come into play "if you catch them right when they did it," said Goree. "That's why I say you should be aware when they get home. When kids are out, that's when they're going to do stuff. Unless they're really addicted, they're not going to do it at home."

Goree recommended erowid.org as an excellent source of information on drug use.

Deputy Jorge Valdivia provided a Crescenta Valley crime overview. The local Sheriff's station made four arrests for marijuana possession in January and five total drug arrests in December that included a couple of methamphetamine cases.

He also pointed out that overall crime dropped 14 percent in 2008 and 2009 and 10 percent last year.

"Glendale, La Crescenta and La Cañada are very safe," Valdivia said. "It's a slice of heaven for us to work here."

Valdivia attributed the lack of C.V. gangs for this low-crime status; already crime-ridden areas of Los Angeles are far more attractive to would-be criminals.

"You won't see tagging here, and if you do it's gone the next day," Valdivia said. "That's very unique for a city."

Valdivia, who lives in La Crescenta, alerted residents that property crimes dominate local law enforcement's workload. He and his colleagues repeatedly emphasized the importance of promptly calling the police in the face of suspicious activity.

"People come here from other areas and break into our cars and our homes because they know we have nice things here," said Valdivia. "One or two people are creating a big headache for us regarding property crime. If you, the people who live in the community, give us a call we can stop more crime from occurring."

Perez and Capt. Carl Povilaitis, also with the Glendale Police Department, focused significantly on safe driving habits for teens and young adults. Both spoke on the dangerous combination of moving vehicles and cell phone conversations or text messaging.

"The brain does not multitask. You cannot text and drive a car at the same time," said Povilaitis. "If you think you can, you're mistaken."

Povilaitis then described the "tragic consequences" he's witnessed as a result of distracted driving that have ended up as criminal manslaughter cases.

"There's nothing quite like seeing several lives ruined," Povilaitis said. "There are no winners in this, everything is absolute tragedy."

 Attorney Barbaro outlined the criminal justice process. He warned teenagers of "the fact that you're under 18 when [arrested] is not going to be a great consolation to you. It's a tough system."

Barbaro provided workshop attendees with a California Bar Association pamphlet titled "When You Become 18: A Survival Guide for Teenagers," which details how the legal system impacts young adults and minors.

The event was organized by the Outreach Committee and took place at the group's facility on Honolulu Avenue.

The community center will host additional workshops in the coming months. An upcoming March event will provide tax advice, followed by seminars on financing a college education, immigration law and parenting skills, said Arick Gevorkian, the organization's chairman.

C.V. Town Councilman Charlie Beatty attended the teen law workshop and was glad to see attention paid to protecting younger members of the community. He mentioned the need "to be united in the fight against drugs and alcohol in our community.

"This is the first step toward getting the information out through our Glendale Police Department and the C.V. Sheriff's Department," he said. "The youth are the future of our community."