Eventual Columbus program aims to curb juvenile car theft
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Juveniles stealing cars, specifically Hyundais and Kias, has been a major problem in central Ohio for the last two years.
The stolen car sprees sometimes result in violent crashes. Last week, four minors were sent to the hospital in a stolen Kia crash in south Columbus. In May, police say a 12-year-old crashed a stolen Kia into a Columbus fire truck.
A Franklin County juvenile judge and partners are one step closer to launching a program aimed at stopping juvenile car thefts. A group of city leaders in charge have been busy fine tuning the plans and determining what each person’s role will be.
Ally Wanstedt fell victim to the “kia boyz'' in June 2022.
“I was going to work, and I was like my car is not in my parking spot,” Wanstedt said.
She said as if the act wasn’t shocking enough, three months later she got a call from the officer in charge of her case. The officer told Wanstedt they found a teen's fingerprints on her rearview mirror.
“[The officer] was like we figured this is his fourth offense of car theft and he’s 15,” Wanstedt said.
Data shows since January 2021 through April 2023, 956 different youth have stolen cars and 330 of them have done it more than once.
Wanstedt said since her car was stolen it has been broken into several times.
This is what the new “Juvenile Auto Theft Program” or JATP will be aimed at preventing.
Juvenile Judge George Leach said they are planning to start phase one, a small group of 20 people they call passengers. These are people that aren’t necessarily behind the wheel. The goal is to change their outlook on this trend and hopefully help them decide to not become a repeat offender.
It will be an after-school program, where mentors will talk with youth, and try to get to the bottom of why teenagers are committing this crime.
Phase one will be 30 days. Leach said it targets first time offenders with little connection to the court, and is a non-lock up alternative. During phase one the juvenile would be brought to the center with their parents and screened. Professionals would be there to determine if there are any family services or counseling needs.
“For the absent parents [who] aren’t going to attend with their child, we will be the parent. We envision that we will be the parent and help them see both sides,” Leach said.
Judge Leach said they are looking for a lightbulb to flick on inside these juveniles to make them think twice about the crime.
“I’m not always looking for remorse right away in this program," Leach said. "I’m looking for a connection. I’m looking for a juvenile to just take a step back and say 'Whoa, maybe I shouldn’t do that', that’s what I want. That’s the juveniles that won't need remorse because he or she won’t get involved.”
Leach said helping to educate the teens on the influence of social media will play a huge role.
The program's team includes Columbus City Schools, Columbus Police, the prosecutor's office, family services and faith leaders. They had their first meeting all together last week.
“I think we have a duty to our communities to get involved in that’s kind of how this program started,” Leach said.
Phase two will be 90 days. This would tackle the repeat offenders and the drivers. Eligible youth would participate in community involvement, and it would be expanded to cover the weekends to keep them busy. Leach said eventually they would hope to get these teens involved in real work, potentially in the automotive business.
Victims like Wanstedt say they’re skeptical about the program but hopeful.
“As a mental health professional, it's probably way more deep rooted than a couple of sessions or things are going to fix, but I do think if it is done in the right way it will kind of help that smaller population,” Wanstedt said.
Leach is hoping to get the pilot program running by November. They are still waiting for the official go ahead from the courts but the group championing this program plans to keep meeting regularly to fine tune the plan.