New data shows juvenile crime decreases during summer

By Jenna Wilson

School is out for summer break and traditionally the concern is that as temperatures go up so does the number of kids committing crimes.

However, new data shows the opposite happened in Buchanan County during the past two years. Crime dropped to its lowest numbers during the summer months, according to a public information request submitted to the County Juvenile Court.

Between June 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2022, monthly referrals decreased by approximately 2.4% each month. Between June 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2023, monthly referrals decreased by approximately 2.1% each month.

Officials with the Buchanan County juvenile office said this could be attributable to students not being in school as there are no truancy cases this time of year.

“Our primary referral source during the school year is school resource officers,” said Linda Meyer, Fifth Circuit Chief Juvenile officer in Buchanan County. “So, in general, when youth are not in school, our referrals tend to drop.”

Despite the decrease in referrals during the summer, offenses were more violent, officials said.

“Always our top three referrals of a delinquent nature are going to be property crimes, assaultive behavior and disorderly conduct,” Meyer said. “This is concerning in my opinion because we do see an increase in substance use as well.”

Meyer says there are ways to prevent violent crimes from reoccurring each year. One is by ensuring kids have a mentor in their lives.

“A lot of the referrals that we see are cases where the youth is not being properly supervised so they’re making bad choices and engaging in activities that are criminal in nature,” she said. “You need to be cognizant of where your child is and in the event that parents or guardians aren’t able to provide that supervision, they need to have somebody that is responsible for their child.”

Meyer said even if a child seems mature enough to be home or out alone, he still needs guidance.

“Everyone knows that kid’s brains are not fully developed and sometimes they don’t always think before they act,” she said. “As a result, we have people in the community that are victimized because of this.”

Meyer says programming for kids such as summer camps is vitally important this time of year and plays a role in creating youth success.