O.C. Juvenile Crime Stats Leap in 1995

In a disturbing sign of things to come, aggravated assaults by juveniles in Orange County soared by 81% in the past year and robberies increased 32%, according to a new report by the district attorney’s office.

In 1995, Orange County sent 177 teens to the California Youth Authority, the state’s juvenile prison. That’s more than double the number from the previous year.

Prosecutors say the upswing--expected to continue--reflects a national trend and signals an increasing penchant for violent behavior among juveniles and a dangerous lack of parental involvement.

“We should be alarmed,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryan Brown, who heads the office’s juvenile division. “We have an obligation to protect our children, and we’re seeing more and more violent crime among juveniles.”

Others in the criminal justice system attributed the surge to a toughening approach by prosecutors and state lawmakers, continuing problems with gang crime, and the easy availability of guns.

Most of all, police, prosecutors and others say, the statistical leap comes down to simple math: The numbers mirror the ballooning youth crime nationwide that is expected to worsen as the children of baby boomers grow up and hit their peak crime years.

Orange County’s youth population is growing 25% faster than the national average, said Gwen Kurz, director of program planning and research for the county Probation Department.

National studies have shown that broader social factors, such as poverty, availability of handguns and an increase in child abuse, have also contributed to the increased use of weapons by children, she said.

Brown stressed that the number of youngsters prosecuted for violent crime--969 cases in 1995--is still small compared with Orange County’s population of more than half a million residents younger than 18.

He noted that the number of homicides committed by youths has declined and that a recent Probation Department report showed that 8% of the county’s juvenile offenders are responsible for 50% of the offenses.

But the overall increase in violent crime by juveniles during 1995 was nevertheless “tremendous,” Brown said Monday.

The district attorney’s new report showed that in 1995:

* 588 juveniles were prosecuted for aggravated assault, compared with 324 the previous year.

* 353 juveniles were prosecuted for robbery, compared with 267.

* 136 juveniles were tried as adults, compared with 91.

* 177 juveniles were sent to the CYA, compared with 84.

Unlike the other violent-crime totals, the number of juveniles charged with homicide dropped, from 31 in 1994 to 21 in 1995. The figures may reflect charges filed for crimes committed in previous years.

The general upswing is expected to continue.

“We are very concerned about what we predict will be an enormous increase in violent youth crime between now and the year 2010,” said Westminster Police Capt. Andy Hall, who just returned from a national conference on juvenile justice in Atlanta.

Hall said family violence seems to contribute to criminal behavior among youth, and babies born to crack- or speed-addicted mothers in the 1980s are now entering their crime-prone years. The allure of gangs completes the formula.

“It’s a catalyst,” Hall said. “The gang itself doesn’t create violence, but it enables violence unlike any other vehicle. Then you combine that with this increase in population, and I think we’re in for a rough 10 years. We’ve got our hands full, and there’s nothing we’re more concerned about now.”

Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters said his department is also acutely aware of the demographic swing that promises to place more youths at risk: Santa Ana has the lowest median age of the country’s largest 100 cities.

“All the experts are saying, ‘Hold on. Unless you do something about what’s coming, you’re in for a real shocker,’ ” he said. “I think we should take heed.”

But Walters, whose city has the most youth gangs of any city in the county, said he believes the department is coping well. “For us, we’ve actually been seeing tremendous decreases [in violent crime], given the demographics. We’re tremendously pleased with what’s happening, given the youthful population and all the national trends.”

The chief said that the key to continued success is early efforts to prevent drug use and school drop-outs and to influence uncaring parents, and that when all those fail, “you’ve got to be really tough.”

Dean Allen, supervising attorney for the juvenile branch of the public defender’s office, warned that harsher prosecution probably will not solve the county’s youth crime problem.

“To a large extent it’s somewhat self-defeating,” Allen said. “You put kids who are really nuisances into the Youth Authority, and all of a sudden they become dangerous.

“It’s sad to see a turning away from the philosophy of trying to work with the kids. I don’t think sending them to CYA necessarily means you’re going to lose them, but it gives them that much more of a hurdle that they have to overcome.”

Gang violence has increased, Allen conceded. But he said the district attorney’s 1995 report reflects a tougher stance on prosecution more than a significant change in youth behavior.

“They seem to file charges more harshly against kids they believe to be in gangs, and they also seem to file allegations and petitions much more frequently asking for the Youth Authority,” he said. “I would attribute it more to a change in the philosophy of the prosecution and not to the increase in crime.”

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Youth Crimes

The number of youths prosecuted for violent felonies in Orange County jumped 54% in 1995 over 1994, and the number of those being tried as adults also increased. The figures:

Crime: % change

Robbery: 32%

Assault: 81%

Homicide: -32%

Rape: -13%

Violent total: 54%

Tried as adult: 49%

Sources: Orange County district attorney

researched by LEE ROMNEY / Los Angeles Times

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Young Offenders

Overall juvenile arrests for violent felonies in Orange County steadily increased between 1990 and 1994, the most recent year for which complete arrest information is available:

*--*

1990-94 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 % Increase Homicide 20 24 18 48 27 35 Rape 12 34 19 25 23 92 Robbery 337 298 301 262 372 10 Assault 434 462 489 543 576 33 Kidnapping 20 1 8 6 7 -65 Total 823 819 835 884 1,005 22

*--*

Source: California Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Statistics

Researched by LEE ROMNEY / Los Angeles Times