NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Juvenile crime remains a troubling trend, with more than 500 young people being detained according to data from the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD).
Additionally, the MNPD noted an increase in homicide deaths among teens and children compared to this time last year — 16 young people died this year compared to just 14 in 2023.
“We’ve got to make sure that we’re not allowing any child to have any guns,” Davidson County juvenile court judge Sheila Calloway told News 2. “That’s something that we have to do as adults — to make sure that we are protecting our kids at every cost.”
The trend is one that Calloway is on a mission to improve; once in the criminal justice system, it can be hard for teens to transition back into society. Calloway called the county’s juvenile crime trend a challenge, but one she said her team is ready to face.
“It’s unfortunate that children will tell you that it’s easier for them to buy a gun off the street than it is to buy a pack of cigarettes,” Calloway said.
Calloway recognized the difficulty in reducing the number of juvenile arrests, hoping for the day the number is zero. Part of the strategy to bring the number down, Calloway said, is to not allow behaviors like skipping curfew to escalate.
In addition to trends in juvenile arrests and homicides, the MNPD saw increases in detentions for breaking curfew. By Metro ordinance, someone under 18 cannot be out in public without adult supervision between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. Year-to-date data for 2023 showed that 130 juveniles were arrested for breaking curfew. By contrast, more than 180 have been arrested so far this year; that represents a 40% increase.
Calloway explained a large portion — about two thirds — of the cases she sees involves children abused or neglected by their parents.
“That is a trauma on their children and that causes adverse childhood experiences,” Calloway said. “So the higher your adverse childhood experiences are, the more likely your physical development is changed and you don’t develop the same way as someone who doesn’t have adverse childhood experiences.”
Calloway also believes Nashville’s new Youth Campus for Empowerment will play a key role. At the center, she and other staff will be able to hold children in an assessment center to best figure out how to help the child.
