Amid rise in juvenile arrests, WCPO sits down with leaders inside the courtroom

After major decreases from 2017 to 2020, Hamilton County Juvenile Court records show that criminal issues involving youth have increased since 2021.

Hamilton County Juvenile Court has annual records up to this past year. Court data shows that in 2023 there were 21,527 total filings compared to 20,468 in 2022. The court filings aren't just criminal cases, they include abuse or neglect complaints and custody filings, among others.

The data also reported that in the year 2023, there were 4,803 delinquency or unruly complaint filings. Those include all criminal cases or arrests. Hamilton County Court data showed an increase in certain serious crimes that involved a kid, including assaults, robberies and burglaries. However, several categories did see decreases in 2023, some of those included homicides and sexual offenses.

Hamilton County Juvenile Court Administrator Elizabeth Igoe sat down with us and explained that these cases are delicate — no two are the same.

"It's individualized, you can't treat any child like another child," Igoe said.

Igoe said that the court's goal is keeping the community safe and rehabilitating kids involved. She told us that rehabilitation doesn't always involve punishments or consequences.

The Juvenile Court administrator did discuss how the court works with boots on the ground in communities to connect with kids on a closer level. Igoe talked about how they have connections in neighborhoods to try and keep kids from falling into violence, specifically with firearms.

“One of the most effective solutions we’re seeing nationwide is working with credible messengers," Igoe said. "Credible messengers are people who live in the community, have real-life experiences and make natural connections with these kids to try and give them a safe place to go when things are happening on the streets that they’re trying to avoid."

Hamilton County Juvenile Court's website also includes a Help Center, which provides access to educational materials.

We also sat down with attorney Angela Chang, director of the county's Youth Defense Division. Chang represents kids in all sorts of criminal cases and said that her team works to get to know the kids and understand their strengths when representing them.

Chang's team works inside and outside the courtroom, to help foster positive environments for kids that find themselves in the middle of a criminal proceeding.

"We actually have a holistic defense model," Chang said. "So we have social workers on our team, we have mitigation specials and we also work with community members to find those solutions."

Chang discussed the importance of kids and their families knowing their basic rights, including the right to attorney, the right to remain silent and the right to due process in a court of law.

Chang ended her conversation with us with a message to the community.

"It's important not to rush to judgment because there's a lot of things that happen in the background of a case," said Chang.

Watch Live: