VOLUNTEER GROUP TRACKS CRIMINAL CASES

Watching from her home, Gainesville Court Watch founder Aneter Heard said
she sees officers arrest people suspected of dealing drugs. The next day,
they're back on the street.

"I could not understand and I still do not understand why it takes so long
for a criminal, a felon, to be prosecuted. And he seems to get out," Heard
said.

"I questioned why this was happening. I get beat over the head by some
felon who personally has more rights than I do. Why is it I must sacrifice
everything and they don't sacrifice anything?"

The local branch of Court Watch was born out of Heard's frustration and is
based on other programs around the state.

Wearing their bright gold T-shirts proclaiming them as Court Watch members,
a volunteer group of about 25 people attend court hearings to monitor cases
involving drugs, repeat offenders and prostitution. They track cases to
make sure defendants receive appropriate sentences and to prevent the
release of repeat offenders.

"The group's role is to get the revolving door aspect out of enforcement,"
Court Watch member Harold Saive said.

"I know that the presence of the Court Watch people tends to make the
judges go the extra mile," he said.

Alachua County Judge Ysleta McDonald said she hasn't seen the group in
action so she doesn't know how much of a role they will play in the
courtroom. But, she said, "We certainly would encourage people to come and
watch court proceedings. I think that the more citizens who show an
interest in the criminal justice system, the better off we all are."

The theory behind Court Watch is an extension of community-oriented
policing, where law enforcement and residents work together to address the
issues behind crime, Saive said.

"The result is not working and we want to know why, and that's the whole
idea behind the Court Watch thing," he said.

"Basically what we are wanting the judges to understand is that we, the
citizens, care about our quality of life," said Debbie Martinez, another
member of the program. "And we feel that when these repeat offenders are
allowed back into the community, our quality of life is eroded, and when
our police officers are not supported and get equal representation, their
morale suffers and our quality of life suffers because they're on the front
line providing public safety to us."

State Attorney Bill Cervone said he is favor of the group.

"Any community involvement is always a good thing. I think it helps people
understand what their elected officials are doing. Do I think a judge would
do something he or she wouldn't otherwise do? I don't think so. But does it
get the attention of the judicial system as to community sentiment? Yes and
in a good way," Cervone said.

"There are some potential dangers. Obviously you could have some
demonstrative show that would be contrary to protecting the defendant's
right to a fair trial," he said, adding that he did not think there would
be problems with the group.

Police also are supportive of the program.

"Court Watch is a good thing because it gets more citizens into taking an
active part in what goes on in their community," Gainesville Police Cpl.
Keith Kameg said. "We've always been looked at if we do anything right and
wrong, and this gets them into the courts also.

"What's really good is a judge expects police to say certain things. But
when it comes from a citizen, the judges really give the citizens a lot of
latitude to talk. Victims of crime as well as people who live in
neighborhoods need to be heard."

Martinez said the local program is modeled after Sarasota's Court Watch group.

Tina Riggle, the program director for the Sarasota Court Watch, said the
idea was born in 1997 when the area formed a neighborhood watch group.

"We would go out and do neighborhood watch. We would see the police
department arresting those people and the same people would be out on the
street," she said.

A trip to court showed that those who had been arrested were being let out,
she said. That prompted residents to take a closer look at the court cases,
eventually leading to the creation of Court Watch.

Riggle said the Sarasota Court Watch, which has about 30 members, tracks an
average of about 50 cases a year.

As with Gainesville's Court Watch, the work involves gathering paperwork on
the cases and defendants, attending court hearings, and maintaining close
ties with law enforcement, probation officers and prosecutors.

The program is claiming success. In her neighborhood, Riggle said residents
contended with drug dealers and prostitutes.

"Our neighborhood now is a dead zone," she said.

Plus, the program has the ear of both the public and attorneys. "We've been
quoted by defense lawyers saying we've hurt their case because we were in
court," she said.

Gainesville's Court Watch, whose members have been meeting since December,
also will focus on cases where officers are injured and attacked, Martinez
said.

For more information about the group, call 222-8151 or visit the group's
Web site at www.saive.com/courtwatch.