At the Pacific Beach Recreation Center on Thursday evening, five offenders take turns explaining their misdemeanors to soft spoken Marcella Teran, who has lived in Pacific Beach for more than 20 years. Two men explained they had drunk alcohol on the beach. Another man said he had smoked a cigarette on Fiesta Island. A middle-aged woman walked her dog off-hours at Crown Point. The final offender to speak, a young man studying to be a doctor, had urinated in public. “I guess mine is the most embarrassing,” he said, as the offenders sat in a circle discussing their misdemeanors with Teran. Instead of answering to a judge, the offenders had opted to take their misdemeanor citations to the Beach Area Community Court, which is held every month at the Pacific Beach Recreation Center. By choosing to go to community court, the participants’ misdemeanors will not appear on their records. So far, they have also not had to pay to attend, although that will soon change. Grant money is dwindling for the court and the county had to rescue the community court with an $8,000 grant last October. Community court organizers have finally decided to charge offenders for their service. The court, Discover PB and the city attorney’s office, which helps run the project, are still discussing the fee but expect it will not exceed $40. Keeping minor offenders out of the county court system has apparently saved the county $50,000, according to Discover PB President Mike McNeil. Discover PB helps to oversee the community court. Beyond attending the intimate court session, the offenders are also required to volunteer for four hours in the community. Only first-time offenders are permitted to go through the community court. During the court session, a volunteer group of panelists are trained to sit with six or more offenders and discuss their wrongdoings. The panelists have the opportunity to explain their points of view as stakeholders in the community. Teran decided to become a panelist and speak to people that degrade her neighborhood because she wants delinquents “to put a face behind issues that affect people.” In a quiet but confident voice, she looks at each perpetrator in the circle as she speaks. “I told my husband: ‘Sometimes I can’t stand to live here,’ Teran told the circle. “People pee in my yard. I wake up to people screaming in the middle of the night, who are yelling profanities. Everything we do affects someone else in life.” Only one of the six participants lives in Pacific Beach. Most of them knew they were breaking the law. Teran asks them what they hope to gain from the community court, and listens as each person answers. She asks them if they have ever considered how their actions affect the beach community. One participant is unsure whether much can be done to thwart such crimes. He said he knew he wasn’t supposed to drink on the beach but he did anyway. More than 75 percent of the offenses are alcohol-related. Most of the people who cycle through the community court won’t come back, according to project manager Sara Burns, who said that of the 580 cases in 2008, only one person reoffended. Since 2006, more than 1,400 offenders have volunteered approximately 8,000 hours of service in Pacific Beach. The Beach Area Community Court started in 2005 as a pilot projject and, a year later, was one of ten sites to receive a $200,000 federal grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The community court is looking for volunteers of all backgrounds to lead a discussion group or a weekend clean-up. Volunteers are required to attend a two-hour training session. For more information visit www.beachcommunitycourt.com or call (858) 273-3050.