Anti-caffeine quiz for community service raising eyebrows
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SEATTLE -- To stay out of jail, you might be willing to try anything. Sometimes a judge doesn't give you a choice and community service comes your way, but one website is offering to make that process very easy.
"This program allowed me to complete my court-ordered community service right from home," trumpets one of the former clients of a Seattle-based company called Fast Community Service.
They say with their system, you can satisfy up to 250 hours of court-ordered community service for anywhere from $20 to $300.
"I didn't want to be in my suit picking up trash and cleaning toilets either," the testimonial says.
The site says it is all web-based, self-study classes you do at your own pace after buying their e-books. The final is a 40-question multiple choice test.
"Once confirmed, you will log in and begin the quiz. When finished, print your letter and you are done," the company's video explains.
"That wouldn't qualify as community service if I was sitting on the bench, no," said Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.
He said community service hours are meant to be an alternative to time behind bars.
"May seem like a clever idea until the judge finds out and converts the community service hours back to jail time," he said.
Fast Community Service's "e-books" are actually texts warning of the evils of caffeine addiction.
An operator hung up on KOMO 4 Problem Solver Jon Humbert after he asked a few questions. On the company's website, it says it's part of the Caffeine Awareness Association, a licensed non-profit. The IRS website shows that organization was registered as tax-exempt as recently as 2010.
The IRS documents appeared to show the caffeine awareness association is a 501c(6) which the IRS says is more like a board of trade or chamber of commerce than a charity. The company and the anti-caffeine organization share the same address in Pioneer Square -- a mailboxes store where owners can anonymously pick up packages.
No one from the association returned emails or took our calls.
For Lindquist, an online quiz should never stand in for serious legal punishment.
"Judges can lose patience with people that they think are trying to game the system," he said.
The King and Pierce County court systems both say they have not had these companies try to use this method to satisfy community service locally. They strongly urge people not to do so.
Despite multiple calls and emails, no one from the companies wanted to go on the record.
"This program allowed me to complete my court-ordered community service right from home," trumpets one of the former clients of a Seattle-based company called Fast Community Service.
They say with their system, you can satisfy up to 250 hours of court-ordered community service for anywhere from $20 to $300.
"I didn't want to be in my suit picking up trash and cleaning toilets either," the testimonial says.
The site says it is all web-based, self-study classes you do at your own pace after buying their e-books. The final is a 40-question multiple choice test.
"Once confirmed, you will log in and begin the quiz. When finished, print your letter and you are done," the company's video explains.
"That wouldn't qualify as community service if I was sitting on the bench, no," said Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.
He said community service hours are meant to be an alternative to time behind bars.
"May seem like a clever idea until the judge finds out and converts the community service hours back to jail time," he said.
Fast Community Service's "e-books" are actually texts warning of the evils of caffeine addiction.
An operator hung up on KOMO 4 Problem Solver Jon Humbert after he asked a few questions. On the company's website, it says it's part of the Caffeine Awareness Association, a licensed non-profit. The IRS website shows that organization was registered as tax-exempt as recently as 2010.
The IRS documents appeared to show the caffeine awareness association is a 501c(6) which the IRS says is more like a board of trade or chamber of commerce than a charity. The company and the anti-caffeine organization share the same address in Pioneer Square -- a mailboxes store where owners can anonymously pick up packages.
No one from the association returned emails or took our calls.
For Lindquist, an online quiz should never stand in for serious legal punishment.
"Judges can lose patience with people that they think are trying to game the system," he said.
The King and Pierce County court systems both say they have not had these companies try to use this method to satisfy community service locally. They strongly urge people not to do so.
Despite multiple calls and emails, no one from the companies wanted to go on the record.
Hey guess what!!! People who commit crimes ARE NOT just the same as you and me. Start holding them accountable. Lots of people grew up poor-abused-in bad households ect who have never committed a crime.Â
Caffeine Awareness Association sounds like a group of folks that were convicted and sentenced to community service who dreamed up a way to game the system for themselves and others.
For real? Â We keep our CS workers busy by having them clean the VERY used bathrooms, helping people load groceries/fetching cars across gravel in the pounding rain, hefting lots of heavy boxes (if they can), cleaning the kitchen, mopping floors, etc. Â At least nobody has tried to do this, yet.
Caffeine Awareness Association? Now I've heard it all.
This is STUPID!!!!!! Whoever implemented this idea needs a smack up-side the head. There are plenty of areas that need "volunteers" where community service hours can be fulfilled (i.e. cleaning up the parks and trails, scrubbing toilets at rest stops, painting over grafitti, working in community gardens (where the produce goes to the food bank, working in a food bank, etc.)
As bad as being forced to take AA classes because you were drunk in a bar.lol
The justice system is nothing but a game. The prosecutors treat it that way as do the defense attorneys and defendants.
Sounds like we need to stop giving criminals the choice. The judge should specify exactly where to do the community service, and it should actually be a service to our community.Â
Taking an online course and test to satisfy community service time is absolutely absurd. Community service is given to save the taxpayers the cost of locking up someone for a minor offense while at the same time providing the criminal with a humbling (hopefully) form of punishment which benefits the community. Iâm sorry if cleaning toilets or picking up trash is damaging to your imagined self image, but thatâs the point.
what a strange "company" to start...
Fast Community Service needs a refresher course on just what community service actually is. Isn't there a place and way to achieve that?
weird I never had to do community serviceÂ
"I didn't want to be in my suit picking up trash and cleaning toilets either," the testimonial says.".
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Then do not break the law, or, change what you are wearing.Â
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Sympathy is not offered here. Get a life.
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 @Melissa Angevine So says the internet poster.......
I miss chain gangs.
I saw that website when I was looking for community service on Craigslist. I flagged it as scammy because it's just that - scammy. I was able to complete my community service the right way and I found a registered non-profit that I really enjoy being at and continue to do, so it was totally worth my while to avoid these clownboats.Â
This is nothing but cheaters and cheater-enablers.
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Good job Mr. Humbert.
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No Caffeine? The Horror. The Horror.
 @NoBillC68 No methamphetamine? THE HORROR. The horror.Â
To be fair I quit drinking energy drinks and haven't had the urge to beat anyone up in weeks. There may be something to this addiction stuff.
If anyone try to use this, I think it would be proper to triple the time and the fine.