By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph Police Chief Paul Luster says it will take a community effort to reduce juvenile crime.
Another juvenile has been taken into custody following a shooting, this time from the shooting and wounding of a man at an auto parts store on St. Joseph Avenue.
Luster says the only real solution to stop the rise in juvenile crime is taking preventative measures.
“Without positive role models, we have some of these kids making bad decisions, seeing a lack of conflict resolution skills,” Luster tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.
Luster says that while in the past juveniles might have resorted to using their fists to resolve disputes, now they turn to weapons.
“And I think the concern is we’re seeing weapons being brought to those occurrences now with guns and knives and that is a disturbing pattern and something that we’re definitely tuned in to.”
St. Joseph police officers took into custody a juvenile following the shooting and wounding of a 35-year-old man outside an auto parts store on St. Joseph Avenue Tuesday night. Juveniles are prime suspects in a fatal stabbing in May and a shooting in August.
Luster says it will take a concerted effort by the community as a whole to address the problem of violent juvenile crime.
“A lot of this is thrown on as this is a law enforcement problem,” Luster says. “A lot of times it’s really not a law enforcement problem. What we’re seeing is a more societal problem.”
Luster says he believes in preventative measures, such as placing police officers in the schools. The St. Joseph Police Department recently extended its contract with the school district to have a School Resource Officer in each high school and middle school with one officer floating between the elementary schools. The contract calls for six School Resources Officers and one supervisor.
“There is just tremendous value to this partnership that we have with the school district that really it benefits our entire community by having those officers in the school,” according to Luster.
Luster sees big benefits from the program.
“Very good program, not only from a safety standpoint, but just from those developing relationships with our youth which is very, very important.”