Certain crimes involving young people have been on the rise, police say. News4’s Mark Segraves reports.
Washington, D.C., is dedicating a new police unit to juvenile crime as the city experiences an increase in young people committing some crimes.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said the Juvenile Investigative Response Unit, or JIRU, will focus on responding to and preventing crimes that involve young people.
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WATCH HERE"Recently, we have seen an increase in fights in our schools and more serious criminal offenses outside
of our schools," Smith said at a news conference. "And we have seen an increase in juvenile suspects involved in criminal offenses District-wide."
The number of juveniles arrested in D.C. has gone up each year since 2020. More than 2,000 were arrested in 2023 and 2024.
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SIGN UP Juveniles also accounted for 51.8%, of all robbery arrests in 2024, according to the police department. About 60% of all carjacking arrests made to date in 2025 are juveniles, police said.
Nearly 200 juveniles arrested in 2024 for violent crimes had prior violent crime arrests.
Expanding outreach to young people who are repeat offenders is a main mission of the unit, Smith said.
"I see the same kids over and over again. And so that's what's driving this for me. It's the same group. It's not a large number," Smith said.
"This unit is designed to respond to youth-involved crime more effectively and stop crime before it happens," Bowser said.
JIRU will use data-driven analysis to identify crime trends among young people and intervene before conflicts escalate into violence, authorities said.
Police plan to investigate crimes involving juveniles regardless of where the crime happens, similar to the carjacking unite the department created a few years ago. Carjackings are down 50% this year compared to 2024.
"Some folks say to me that, you know, we can't arrest our way out of this. And I agree. But we will hold those young people accountable that are committing serious crimes across our city," Smith said.
Investigators will also work closely with D.C. Public Schools, the Child and Family Services Agency, the departments for behavioral health and human services, the youth rehabilitation department and more city agencies to have a "whole-government approach."
