INDIANAPOLIS — Clergy, Marion County judges, law enforcement officials and others came together Tuesday to discuss how to end youth violence.
"It's always easy to sit there and say, 'Just lock everybody up.' That's not a solution to our problem," said Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.
It's a problem Mears addressed at a meeting with the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Indianapolis.
"Once that kid has an initial contact with the criminal justice system, their chance for success decreases dramatically and so I think it's on us as stakeholders to try to come up with a new approach that deals with the underlying causes and issues," said Mears.
Like what factors are driving teens to commit crimes, and how mentors can help change their lives.
Marion County Superior Court Judge Geoffery Gaither said there has been a steady decline in incarceration rates.
According to statistics from the Indiana Department of Correction, a total of 23 Marion County juveniles were sentenced to jail time in a correctional facility for the most serious offense.
In 2019, there were twice as many teens at 46.
In 2018, that number was 69.
The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reported trends among young people in the justice system.
It showed potential causes for youth to turn to crime:
- Seventy percent reported that something very terrifying or bad had happened to them.
- Sixty-seven percent reported experiencing someone injured severely or killed.
- Twenty-two percent reported attempting suicide at some point in their lives.
It's why Mears and others say it's important for children to have someone in their life who cares.
"One of the coolest things we did is partner up with the IU basketball players Trayce Jackson Davis and Race Thompson and we brought in all the area basketball teams and we talked about how young people can be leaders, not only on their basketball team, but in their school, in their neighborhood, on their block, and keep people away from violence and be a positive influence in the community," said Mears.