As juvenile crime has skyrocketed across the nation following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, state lawmakers are looking to pass laws to curb rising youth violence and lawlessness.

Juvenile homicides nationwide increased by 44% from 2019 to 2020 and increased by 83% from 2013 to 2020, according to data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, as school closures and police reforms have contributed to rising youth crime. Lawmakers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and New Jersey have introduced bills to implement measures such as penalty enhancements for juvenile gang members, as well as mandatory holding periods for juveniles charged with violent crimes, to address the rising violence.

“The year 2020 saw a reversal of decades-long reductions in juvenile violent crime,” Josh Crawford, Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Kids not being in school due to government shutdowns and reductions in proactive policing during COVID-19 played a role.”

“Punishment is never fated to ‘succeed’ to any great degree.” A society that “intends to promote disciplined conduct and social control will concentrate not upon punishing offenders but upon socializing and integrating young citizens.”

Such was the optimistic expression of David Garland, the NYU professor who started the abolition of punishment movement back in 1990.

In the subsequent quarter century, however, the abolitionist agenda never moved beyond the radical elite. Then, in just the last few years, there came a strategic shift to demand only the abolition of prisons. The goal is to “build a more humane and democratic society that no longer relies on caging people to meet human needs and solve social problems.”

n February, Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis addressed the city council and told the story of an 11-year-old boy who had been arrested nine times and amassed 19 charges including multiple robbery, carjacking, and weapons charges. While this child may be particularly young, he is representative of a major issue facing Memphis – an increase in juvenile crime. 

In November of last year, the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission issued a report that found a 42% increase in juvenile arrestees and concluded that in 2022 juveniles were charged with 151 aggravated assault charges, 124 carjacking charges, and 96 aggravated robberies. Memphis is not alone in this kind of surge, though. After decades of decline, serious juvenile violence began dramatically increasing in 2020. 

Juvenile offending, like adult criminality, concentrates among a very small number of offenders. These juveniles are typically either associated with or being recruited into street gangs and often pressured by adults to commit serious violent offenses.  

Thankfully, there are well-documented ways to reduce that kind of offending. Look to Louisville, Kentucky for a recent example of solutions.  

In March, the Department of Justice released a report outlining examples of discrimination by LMPD in some arrest cases.

LMPD is asking for tips from the public to help solve crimes, including a recent mass shooting in Chickasaw Park that left two dead. However, some people may be reluctant to come forward if they don’t feel they will benefit from law enforcement or if they don’t have confidence in the police. The Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, Josh Crawford, explained that communities want more law enforcement to keep them safe, but they may not feel that police can do their jobs reliably or fairly based on past interactions. Building trust between police and communities is crucial for making neighborhoods safer.

There are unsolved murders and crimes across the city, and in some cases lots of witnesses, but few tips.

Almost two weeks ago, six people were shot in Chickasaw Park with two of them dying. Hundreds of people were in the park, but police have been begging for tips.

This week, LMPD asked the public again for any evidence that could help them get justice for the victims of the Chickasaw Park mass shooting.