LAKELAND, Fla. — Juvenile arrests are down across Florida, according to a new report by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
Newly-released data shows Polk County experienced a 22 percent decrease in juvenile arrests in the fiscal year 2018 compared to the year before.
"We take juvenile crime very seriously here," said Lakeland Police Chief Larry Giddens. "But we also know that they're kids making kid-type mistakes."
Chief Giddens broke down the stats with ABC Action News Thursday and believes the downward trend is the result of his officers prioritizing diversion programs for eligible juvenile suspects.
That focus is part of a year-old, county-wide law enforcement partnership with the State Attorney's Office of the 10th Judicial Circuit.
"By giving kids second chances and getting them around to more positive and influential groups maybe we can change their decision making," said Chief Giddens. "We want to make sure that we're giving these kids every chance to succeed in life."
State Attorney Brian Haas tells ABC Action News, his office has spared more than 1,000 children from being arrested, helping them avoid a criminal record.
Haas says that's about 80% of all eligible juvenile suspects, which exclude those who commit violent crimes or are repeat offenders.
Chief Giddens says his agency investigated 45 shootings, 18 involving gang members, in 2014. He says the number of shootings investigated dropped to 11 last year, with no gang-related shootings.
"If that's making a difference, then that is the positive impact," said Giddens. "That's huge."
“Arrests for juveniles are down in Polk County because of our increased use of pre-arrest diversion for first time low-level offenders," Polk Sheriff Judd said. "That doesn’t mean overall juvenile crime is down, but we are gratified that in addition to an overall decrease in juvenile arrests, felony arrests of juveniles are also down. We’ve been working in cooperation with State Attorney Brian Hass and community leaders to improve the way we work with juvenile offenders. We are still holding juveniles who break the law accountable, but giving first time low level offenders a 2nd chance so they can avoid a criminal record. The truth is, most kids who get caught violating the law are never arrested again. They learn their lesson. We work hard every day with our law enforcement and school system partners to work with kids to make sure they are staying on track and out of trouble."
