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Milton police chief concerned about juvenile crime

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Jerry Schuetz

MILTON — It started with petty offenses when the young man was 15—charges of curfew violation, tobacco possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

By age 18, he had progressed to alleged theft and possession of a controlled substance.

Now the man is 20. He’s been arrested several times this year on charges of burglary and theft as he tried to feed his heroin addiction, said Milton Police Chief Jerry Schuetz.

It’s a typical story of a young person who wanders down the wrong path, he said.

But Schuetz doesn’t want that to be a typical story in Milton. He’s concerned about an increase in juvenile arrests in 2008, especially in light of recent drug problems, he said. The increase has continued so far in 2009, he said.

The percentages look drastic—a 27 percent increase in juvenile arrests between 2007 and 2008 and a 400 percent increase in drug arrests.

But the actual numbers don’t look as bad. The juvenile arrests increased from 97 to 123, and the drug arrests increased from one to five.

“The overall numbers of actual crime are still very, very low proportionally for a community of our size,” Schuetz said. “We’d rather stop the trend before it grows and becomes worse.”

If you look back even further, you see that juvenile arrests have ebbed and flowed in the last 10 years, peaking at 234 in 2004 and bottoming out at 59 in 2006.

Schuetz and the department have to analyze the numbers more before he can say what’s responsible for the changes, he said.

Drug use could have something to do with the recent increase, he said. Rock County, including Milton, has seen a dramatic and highly publicized increase in heroin activity in the last year and a half, including the overdose of three Milton teens in May.

Another factor might be the city’s growth in recent years.

“As communities get larger, the opportunities for crime certainly grow as well,” Schuetz said.

Schuetz is especially concerned about repeat offenders, he said.

“The majority of the youth in our community are great decision makers and they represent our community very positively, but a handful seem to repeatedly engage in criminal conduct,” he said.

Those offenders clearly aren’t connecting with positive support systems such as family, community and school, he said.

That’s why he supports an effort by school board member Jon Cruzan and others to start a youth center in Milton, he said.

“We need to find another connecting point to connect those kids to,” he said.

Schuetz also wants to raise awareness about juvenile crime through outlets such as the city’s new Neighborhood Watch program. The program will train residents to watch for suspicious behavior, he said. He wants the Milton department to get more involved in the Janesville Area CrimeStoppers program, too, he said.

“We certainly want kids to feel welcome and enjoy themselves in our community, but it’s when they’re up to no good that we want people to call us right away so we can intervene,” he said.

The police department’s intern from UW-Whitewater will patrol by bike this summer, offering young people the chance for casual, positive interaction with police, Schuetz said.

Some juvenile offenders might grow out of their bad behavior, he said. But he worries that others will end up like the 20-year-old heroin addict if the community doesn’t intervene.

“If there’s not a real proactive intervention that can take place for a kid at an early age, they just kind of continue to cycle through the criminal justice system up until young adulthood,” he said.

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Some Miltonites think a youth center could offer positive activities for teens who might otherwise dabble in crime.

A few members of Milton Seventh Day Baptist Church have kicked the idea around for years, said Jon Cruzan, a church member and Milton School Board representative. Recent statistics and anecdotes about juvenile crime have convinced members that God is leading them to establish a center, he said.

“Milton’s great if you’re into athletics, if you’re into the arts, if you’re into organized programs from the schools,” he said. “But there is a group of kids who don’t do those things, and then they become at risk.”

The group envisions a center open for a few hours after school every weekday. It would offer activities, computers, homework help and adult role models. Eventually, the center would be able to hire its own staff.

At first, the group wanted to target high school students, but research showed middle school kids might be most in need of positive activities, Cruzan said.

Though the center would be faith-based, there would be no preaching during drop-in hours, Cruzan said. Bible studies would be available at other times for those who want to participate.

The group still is in the beginning stages of planning. It doesn’t have a building, detailed plans or funding.

“We’ve been doing a lot of investigating, a lot of researching, a lot of talking to leaders in the community to find out if there is some traction for the idea,” Cruzan said.

Group members presented the idea to the church last week and received approval to start enlisting community members. They hope other churches, organizations and individuals get involved.

“Our church would not be able to do this by ourselves,” Cruzan said.

Police Chief Jerry Schuetz and Superintendent Bernie Nikolay said they support the idea.

“The more positive places we have for kids to go do positive things decreases the likelihood that they will be doing not-so-positive things in our community,” Schuetz said.