Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Brian Rensberger, the county's probation officer for juveniles, sees approximately 400 cases of juvenile crime a year. Of those, he said, about 90 percent go on to probation or boys' or girls' school.
Rensberger said he always asks juvenile offenders if they are members of a gang. "Most of the time they're going to tell you no," he said, whether they are or not.
While the number of juvenile crimes has risen only slightly in the past few years, he said, the crimes being committed are more severe. "We've gone from underage drinking to selling marijuana and LSD," he said.
He also sees an increase in shoplifting cases and more heinous-type offenses. For example, the number of battery cases is up. "Instead of little fights, kids are attacking each other with deadly weapons," he said, citing a case where a 15-year-old in Syracuse stabbed another kid in the back three times.
Like Judge Burner, Rensberger's main frustration is his lack of options in dealing with juveniles.
"The biggest problem is what to do with these kids while they're waiting for court hearings," he said.
Indiana law allows juveniles to be put in jail for up to 10 days, but they must be completely separated from the adult population. With the overcrowding in the Kosciusko County jail, that separation is not possible, he said.
Residential treatment is also an option, but can cost anywhere from $85 a day to $900 a day for a drug-dependent juvenile.
A juvenile detention center is another option, but it is an expensive one and difficult to maintain.
Rensberger said he realizes that the public may be frustrated with the sluggish pace of the juvenile justice system. "The juvenile justice system does not move as fast as people want it to," he said. "Nothing happens overnight."
When a juvenile gets in trouble with the law, whether it's a felony or misdemeanor, the police department will refer the case to Rensberger and he'll bring the kid in. His options are probation, restitution, community service or court.
Younger juvenile offenders, those around age 12, 13 or 14, Rensberger believes, can be scared enough that they probably won't commit another offense. The older ones, age 15 and up, aren't as easy to deal with.
"The only time they feel a crime has been committed is when they get caught," he said.
