Police crack down on young drug dealers near UWM

By Dave Umhoefer

"A crackdown on dope-dealing college students near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has short-circuited a home-invasion spree that repeatedly brought east side residents and armed robbers face to face near some of the city's safest and toniest urban addresses, police say…"

"In a multi-step process, felony charges typically shrink to misdemeanors under deferred prosecutions - if offenders stay out of trouble for six months and follow through on alcohol or drug treatment. Then the offenders are placed on probation. In some of the east side cases, the deals recommend expunging drug charges if defendants do well on probation. But a judge makes that call…"

"The overall strategy is to get residents working together and to avoid spinning low-level offenders into a permanent criminal lifestyle.”

"Offenders are ordered to do community service in neighborhoods to help repair damage they've caused, a concept known as restorative justice..."

Full article available at
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/43234312.html