Muncie Crime Response - Blame It On The Juvenile Courts?

 Blaming crime on juveniles has a long history in this country - I can think of examples from the Fifties (those juvenile delinquents of The Blackboard Jungle were formed from "studies") to the crack era predators. The trend continues even unto today in Delaware County, Indiana: Delaware Co. Prosecutor discusses crime trends following Muncie’s second 2024 homicide. Of course, the local Fox News affiliate is there to report on the dangerous teens of Muncie.

Despite the drop in murder cases, Hoffman said the trends in data show the city deals with several violent crimes.

“Some of the cases are criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, dangerous possession of a firearm, intimidation with a deadly weapon,” he listed.

The prosecutor said many cases have involved minors, but Hoffman said the juvenile court system has often denied his office from filing charges in many of those cases.

“[The juvenile system denied] 48 cases of battery, 23 cases of domestic battery, 14 cases of intimidation and 40 cases of leaving home without permission,” he said. “And we wonder why we have such a juvenile crime problem.”

Notice the transition from only two homicides to juvenile crimes.

No one asks why the court denied the filing of charges.

Or what was the basis of the denial.

Is it that the juvenile court denied transferring juveniles to adult court? Then Mr. Hoffman misrepresents the purpose of juvenile court. Juvenile court is meant to give kids a chance at reform - it is more about treatment than punishment. I do not think that any Indiana juvenile court will readily transfer juveniles to adult court for less than murder and rape.

Is that the juvenile court denied the juvenile equivalent of a conviction in those cases? Then that is a failure of proof put forward by the juvenile prosecutor (yes, there is a deputy prosecutor representing the State of Indiana in juvenile court) employed by Mr. Hoffman.

Finally, how do these cases of "leaving home without permission" endanger the safety of Delaware County?

The solution is not transferring children to adult court, it is to use the tools available to juvenile court to orient these children away from crime.

Along similar lines: How Politicians Should Think About Crime.

Valid public concerns about safety and disorder matter and are a key component of the national political conversation. People want the rule of law respected, and those who cause harm should be held accountable. We all want our kids to be able to walk safely to school. We all want safe communities. But decades of research indicate that public safety and justice reforms can be achieved together.

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