NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - 17 Youths Charged With Murder This Year

17 Youths Charged With Murder This Year

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Seventeen Nashville-area youths were charged with murder this year, according to Metro police.

The number of juveniles arrested for violent crimes is up nearly 90 percent from this time last year.

Police and school district officials are concerned about the spike in serious crimes.

Although most of the crimes took place off school grounds, school administrators said they must play a prime role in solving this problem.

That's why they're reaching out to police as well as the community in efforts to reverse the trend.

"Thirty-one percent of the people arrested for armed robbery in Nashville are children," said Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas.

Jacob Smith, a senior at Antioch High School, said he isn't surprised by the statistics he heard at a youth summit against violence.

"Really I don't find it surprising because there are some kids out there who just don't care," he said.

He and about 300 other Metro students attended the summit at Tennessee State University.

"The city has a problem but I've got to tell you those problems and concerns spill over into our schools and gives us the same concerns so unless we all work together it's not going to come together," said Ralph Thompson,  assistant superintendent of student services for Metro Schools.

Thompson said the district is working with police, the courts and the community to come up with a solution.

"The only way to combat this problem is to join together and not point the finger at one another," he said. "This is a community issue. This is a society issue.

"It's always cool to do the right thing because when you do the wrong thing, where do you end up? Somewhere you don't want to be and then that's not cool at all," said LaJohna Taylor, a student who attended the conference.

Local police, the courts and school administrators hope that message spreads throughout the city.

The public school system and the police department are working together to combat the problem through several outreach programs on and off school grounds.

The issue of juvenile crime will be the topic of discussion at the school board's meeting Tuesday night.

Juvenile Court Judge Betty Adams Green and others from the juvenile court system will discuss the rise in crime and some of the factors contributing to the problem.

The board meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the school board headquarters on Bransford Avenue in Nashville. The meeting is open to the public.