RAPID CITY S.D. (KELO.com) — The Rapid City chapter of a statewide organization representing police officers, says crimes committed by juveniles continue to rise in number.
That group wants state officials to evaluate justice system reforms put in place a few years ago by the state legislature.
The president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Mike Walsh, says there’s been an uptick in stolen vehicles and vehicle pursuits, assaults, robberies and firearm violations involving youth as young as 12 or 13.
His group is asking that state officials meet with local law agencies to look at the effectiveness of the reforms, and determine if more steps need to be taken to stem the rate of juvenile crime.
The Rapid City Area Schools and Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris joined in the Fraternal Order of Police’s call for an evaluation to begin, in a letter issued this week.
The 2020 Legislative session starts January 14th in Pierre.
(Brad Anderson, KOTA-AM, contributed this report.)
