COLUMBUS, Ohio — For years, CrimeTracker 10 has been reporting on the trend of kids stealing cars. Between 2019 and 2022, there was an 83% increase in case filings for stolen cars in juvenile court.
There was a 12% increase in juvenile court filings involving kids stealing cars from July 2022 to July 2023.
The Franklin County juvenile court has elected a new administrative judge, Monica Hawkins.
“There's only a small percentage that are doing the most damage. I know that does not make anyone feel good when their cars are stolen and their cars are destroyed and their insurance and their lives are upset. We are trying to figure this out. We are holding children accountable,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins was first elected to the Franklin County juvenile court about five years ago, and has seen the increase in juvenile crime, especially when it comes to stolen cars.
According to the juvenile court, 34% of the juveniles have been charged in more than one case.
“I don't know if we can prevent them. The problem is when they are in the community, they are under the protection and auspices of their parent. What we try to do is when they come before us, we try to match what crime they have committed and find a consequence that is commensurate,” Hawkins said.
As administrative judge, she says the seven elected judges will give consequences to the youth in front of them, but that it starts before the crime is committed.
“The parents are probably the primary responsibility. The owness follows the parent. I think every child is impressionable and parents have the primary responsibility to raise them in a right way with correction and discipline and love and boundaries so they don't get into trouble,” she said.
She argues the judges are held to a scoring system to decide if a child should be held in lockup or released pending the outcome of their case. That is based on how many charges the youth faces and the safety the child poses to themselves and to the public. Hawkins argues while parents do have a say if their child is held, the parents don't get the ultimate say.
“You can't ask us to raise your kids at the age of 13 when you have not exercised control up until that age,” Hawkins said.
The juvenile court, along with the prosecutor’s office, Columbus police and other groups are working together on a specialized unit for those kids who are charged with receiving stolen property (RSP), which is the charge mostly used in stolen car cases. It is designed to keep the kids from becoming re-offenders.
“We try to tailor it to meet the times. Sometimes we are little behind these trends because it happens daily. We are trying to deal with and address this problem. We aren't just ignoring it,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said the RSP program will begin later this month with a few kids before it is fully implemented.