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The well-known Harris County crime problem doesn't seem to be slowing down, but it is reaching younger and younger perpetrators. Juvenile violent crime like murder has risen over 260 percent since 2019.
While juvenile crime in and of itself isn't anything new, the fact that it's risen so quickly in such a short amount of time is shocking. Retired HPD captain Greg Fremin said that it was "a sign of our times with society." He went on to say that, "You got 14 and 15 year olds going in there and committing capital murder, you never had stuff like that before."
As for the causes of this massive crime spike, Fremin pointed to a number of issues, including the criminal justice system. He said, "There's no deterrents, and that's why kids are going out there and doing what they're doing. They know if they get caught as a juvenile, the chances are they're going to get probation, or they're not gonna get tried as an adult. It incentivizes them."
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Fremin says the root issues here are things like the ongoing breakdown of the family unit. He pointed to how that leads to more juveniles becoming criminals saying, "A lot of these kids are growing up in single-headed households. And it's tough because the moms are working 2 or 3 jobs, there's no one there trying to take care of the child, or supervise the child."
He says that making sure kids are being raised in strong families with good parents, as well as making sure they're getting good educations, will go a long way towards solving this problem.