The juvenile justice system just can't keep up with teenage crime.

Criminal referrals to juvenile court has increased 120 percent the past 10 years, while the court's staff is only 10 percent larger. The backlog of cases is staggering. It currently takes 85 days for a juvenile accused of a crime to get on the court calendar."The relationship between action and consequences are null and void almost with that kind of situation," said Val Harris, 4th District Juvenile Court executive. The district covers Utah, Wasatch, Millard and Juab counties.

Provo Police Chief Swen Nielsen said one of the problems is that juvenile justice system isn't equipped to handle today's teenage criminals.

"It's set up to deal with Huck Finn, who chews tobacco and skips school," he said.

Harris agrees that teenagers now are more sophisticated in crime than their predecessors. And while parents get mad when their children are caught drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes, those kids aren't likely headed for juvenile court.

"The tolerance in the community for (teenager alcohol and tobacco use) has not changed. But we only have resources for the most severe referrals," Harris said.

Harris said the system isn't outdated. It simply doesn't have the money and personnel to run on all cylinders. There are only two juvenile court judges in the district. Harris hopes to have a third after the next session of the Utah Legislature. Fourteen probation officers take on 100 cases a month.

"We are limping, but we're still moving. We have a Maserati with a bent valve," he said.

Only a small number of teenagers clog the juvenile court system.

"Less than 5 percent of the kids in the system take about 90 percent of the resources," Harris said.

Teenagers picked up for first offenses rarely spend time in juvenile detention.

View Comments

Provo police recently arrested four 13- to 16-year-olds on 130 counts of auto burglary. The four had no prior arrests.

"Are these first-time offenders?" Nielsen said. "These guys aren't going to jail. Yet they're rather prolific thieves."

Harris said the juvenile court needs to be able to act faster.

"The answer is give us the ability on the first offense to take corrective action rather than on the seventh or eighth referral," Harris said. "We don't have enough staff here to be quick and consistent."

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.