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Crackingdown LakeCharlespoliceawareofincreasedjuvenilecrime
ByAshleyWithersawithers@americanpress.com
TheLakeCharlesPoliceDepartmentreportedanincreaseinthenumberofjuvenilerelatedcrimesin2011atthedepartments annualcrimestatisticsnewsconferencelastThursday. Therewere252juvenilearrestsin2011a17percentincreasefromthe215juvenilearrestsin2010. Themostcommonjuvenilecrimesareanythingofopportunity.Juvenileswillcommitcrimesthesameasanadult,often burglary,theft,shoplifting,OfficerScottDoughertysaid,WehaveaproblemwithkidsstealingTVs,XBoxes.Theywilltake advantageofanysituationwheretheycanprofitorseesomethingtheywant. DoughertypolicesthecentralsectionofLakeCharles,whichincludesBeat6theareaborderedbyBroadStreet,12th Street,andFirstAvenuetoKayoucheeCoulee.Beat6isamongtheareasidentifiedbytheLCPDasahighcrimearea. FelixAverhoff,whohaslivedintheBeat6areaforthepastsixyears,saidhehadntnoticedanincreaseinjuvenilecrime,but hewasntsurprised. Ibelievethereisalotofthefthere,hesaid. ArearesidentMaryWilsonagrees.Shesaidherneighborsapartmentwasbrokenintojusttwoweeksagobysomeyoung kids. ItsthekindofthingthoughwhereIusuallyhearalotaboutthecrime,butIdontreallyseeit,Wilsonsaid. Nowthatschoolisoutforthesummermonths,Doughertysaidcitypoliceareonalertforapotentialincreaseinjuvenilecrime. Wealwaysprepareourselvesmentallyforincreasedjuvenilecrimeinthesummerorwheneverschoolletsout,Dougherty said.Thereisalackofsupervisionatthattimeorevenforthosewithparentswhotry,alackofcontrol.Sometimesthesekids feelastrongerconnectiontooraremoreloyaltokidstheyrunwithintheirneighborhoodthantheirparents. Manyofthecrimescommittedbyjuvenilesarespurredbylocalgangactivity.TheGetMoneyBoys,commonlyreferredtoas theGMB,andotherareagangsoftenattractmemberswhoareinmiddleschoolandsometimeseveninthefifthgrade.TheGMB isthedominantganginBeat6. Unfortunately,lessthingsareshockingtokidsnow.Kidsareexposedatamuchearlieragetothingstheycantprocessor separatefromreality,Doughertysaid,Thismeansthatajuvenilecancommitthesametypesofcrimeasanadult. Doughertysaiditishardertotargetjuvenilegangsbecauseyoungmemberswilloftendenytheiraffiliation.Hesaidolder memberswilljusttellyouwhotheyrunwith. Aspartoftheirstrategytocutdownonjuvenilecrime,DoughertysaidtheLCPDwillcrackdownoncurfewlawviolators.This meansparentscanbeticketediftheirchildrenarecaughtoutaftercurfew. TheLakeCharlescurfewforpeopleundertheageof17whoarenotworkingorwithaparentorguardianis11p.m.5a.m. MondaythroughThursdayandmidnight5a.m.FridaythroughSunday.Doughertysaidarrestproceduresforjuvenilesdifferfrom thoseofadults.Theyaresubjecttoadifferentsetofrulesanddetentionsystem.SinceJuly2011,juvenileshavebeensubject totheservicesoftheCalcasieuParishMultiAgencyResourceCenterinadditiontotheJuvenileDetentionCenter.TheMARC providesassistancetoatriskchildrenandtheirfamilies.Doughertysaidthatwhenhecatchesajuvenileoffenderhecalls MARC,andtheyadvisehimonthebestnextstepfortheoffender.HesaidthisprovidesanalternativetotheJDC,whichdoes notacceptjuvenileswhohavecommittedmisdemeanors.Youhavetoberealcarefulofhowyoudealwithjuveniles.Youdont