Juvenile crime down in 2006

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

Crime committed by juveniles in Caldwell County are at their lowest recorded point in five years.
According to information released by Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Jay Monkerud on Monday morning, formal referrals to the juvenile probation department in 2006 totaled 176, down from 220 in 2005.
“Actually, we have

not seen this few referrals since 1993,” Monkerud wrote in a report directed to the Caldwell County Commissioners” Court. “Formal referrals tend to be a good indicator of the juvenile crime occuring…our figures indicate that we received 20 percent fewer referrals than in 2005.”
Monkerud also reported that the number of juveniles being supervised in Caldwell County in 2006 was down almost 15 percent.
“We saw fewer juveniles receive services through the substance abuse program…” he said. “Drug testing results have kept a consistent 24 percent positive rate. However, 2006 showed a decrease in juveniles who tested positive at any time at 32 percent, compared to 35 percent in 2005 and 40 percent in 2004.”
Although much of the report yielded good news, Monkerud reported that some figures, such as the total number of informal and formal referrals had not decreased. He suggested that the stabilized numbers were due in part to the number of minors that were referred under a First/Minor Offender Program.
In other business:
The Commissioners opted to leave an outdoor burning ban in place for at least another week. Dry conditions and high winds have created a danger of wildfire throughout the county, and conditions show no promise of easing in the near future.
They also signed an order to hold an election on May 12, 2007 allowing voters to decide whether to approve Emergency Fire District 1, which will cover the territories currently serviced by the McMahan and Mid-County Volunteer Fire Department.
The county paid bills in the amount of $147,405.78