Weld County Judge Paul Sacco runs Music Immersion, one of Colorado’s most effective rehabilitation programs. Four times a year, Fort Lupton noise-ordinance violators are sentenced to enduring one hour, on a Friday night, of music by the Captain and Tennille, John Tesh, Barry Manilow, Henry Mancini and other easy-listening stars. No cellphones, i-Pods, gum or other distractions allowed. Just the kids and the, um, music. Claire Martin
Q: What’s the recidivism rate for this program?
A: It’s incredibly low — less than 10 percent. That’s ridiculously low, for juveniles. Other programs’ rates are much higher.
Q: Do you supervise the music hour?
A: Not personally, usually, but it is supervised by a police officer who has a gun. My clerk supervises, as well. She runs the boombox while the officer stands there, arms folded, watching the kids who’d otherwise be out causing problems on a Friday night.
Q: What’s your favorite part?
A: The expressions. That’s my favorite aspect. These are hard folks, guys with tattoos and metal bits, and they’re part of a gang or hang out with gangs. These are some rough kids. You see some guy with shades, tattoos and all and then a Gene Autry song comes on, like “Happy Trails,” and it’s nails on a blackboard for them. They’re extremely annoyed.
Q: Do you get feedback on which songs they really despise?
A: Yes, we have people fill out forms for feedback. The worst is always the Barney music, especially a song about sailing away. After that, I’d say it’s classical, like Mozart. I was surprised.
Q: Why?
A: I always thought country would be the most hated, but it’s only fourth. And we have Glenn Campbell, and Bobby Goldsboro singing “Honey.”
Q: And Barry Manilow?
A: Hey, I like Barry Manilow! In my opinion, there isn’t bad music, or there’s very little that’s really bad.
Q: What’s the name of your least favorite song?
A: I don’t think there’s a song on there that I don’t like.
Q: Really?
A: Really. I look at this as a program that’s as informative as it is punitive. It’s a music appreciation class. It’s been a wild and wonderful ride since it began in ’96. But the kids, they definitely don’t like it.
