Local
D.C. juvenile arrests soar, data show
By: Bill Myers
Examiner Staff Writer
February 3, 2009
D.C.’s juvenile arrests have skyrocketed in the last year, The Examiner has learned.
There were about 3,500 kids arrested in 2007. In 2008, nearly 4,500 kids were arrested, for crimes ranging from public urination (two cases) to felony murder (three cases), statistics kept by the city show.
Children under 18 have to be tried as children for most crimes. They’re then handed over to the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. Department Director Vincent Schiraldi has come under heavy fire for his emphasis on social work over punishment for kids who’ve run afoul of the law.
Dozens of children have absconded from Schiraldi’s custody, city records show. At least 84 children were arrested for being a “fugitive from justice,” according to 2008 stats.
Last week, 18-year-old Lafonte Lurie Carlton was charged with two separate homicides in the District. The shooting deaths occurred two years after Carlton was locked up as a juvenile for a homicide in 2006.
Schiraldi’s spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.
Sociologists agree that crime is driven by young people, especially young men and boys. Juvenile crime is often a bellwether for overall crime in a city. D.C. has seen back-to-back increases in the number of homicides for the first time since 1989-1991.
“The District has its problems that are not unique to the city but are emblematic of what is transpiring around the country,” George Mason criminologist Karen Bune said. “Juvenile crime is on the increase everywhere and will get worse if services continue to be cut and funds denied.”
Mayor Adrian Fenty has slashed Schiraldi’s budget, as well as the budget of the police department and other social service agencies.
Police union chairman Kris Baumann said that the main problem for D.C. is leadership. He said that Fenty and Police Chief Cathy Lanier have been merely reactive to crime trends and haven’t tried to get in front of them. Programs like “All Hands on Deck” and the controversial barricades Lanier threw up in Trinidad last year make splashy headlines, but not effective crime-stopping, Baumann said.
“We, as a city, need to come to terms with the fact that unless we do something dramatically different, we’re going to have to get used to rising crime rates,” he said.
Lanier’s spokeswoman didn’t respond to requests for comment.
There were about 3,500 kids arrested in 2007. In 2008, nearly 4,500 kids were arrested, for crimes ranging from public urination (two cases) to felony murder (three cases), statistics kept by the city show.
Children under 18 have to be tried as children for most crimes. They’re then handed over to the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. Department Director Vincent Schiraldi has come under heavy fire for his emphasis on social work over punishment for kids who’ve run afoul of the law.
Dozens of children have absconded from Schiraldi’s custody, city records show. At least 84 children were arrested for being a “fugitive from justice,” according to 2008 stats.
Last week, 18-year-old Lafonte Lurie Carlton was charged with two separate homicides in the District. The shooting deaths occurred two years after Carlton was locked up as a juvenile for a homicide in 2006.
Schiraldi’s spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.
Sociologists agree that crime is driven by young people, especially young men and boys. Juvenile crime is often a bellwether for overall crime in a city. D.C. has seen back-to-back increases in the number of homicides for the first time since 1989-1991.
“The District has its problems that are not unique to the city but are emblematic of what is transpiring around the country,” George Mason criminologist Karen Bune said. “Juvenile crime is on the increase everywhere and will get worse if services continue to be cut and funds denied.”
Mayor Adrian Fenty has slashed Schiraldi’s budget, as well as the budget of the police department and other social service agencies.
Police union chairman Kris Baumann said that the main problem for D.C. is leadership. He said that Fenty and Police Chief Cathy Lanier have been merely reactive to crime trends and haven’t tried to get in front of them. Programs like “All Hands on Deck” and the controversial barricades Lanier threw up in Trinidad last year make splashy headlines, but not effective crime-stopping, Baumann said.
“We, as a city, need to come to terms with the fact that unless we do something dramatically different, we’re going to have to get used to rising crime rates,” he said.
Lanier’s spokeswoman didn’t respond to requests for comment.
