By Kim Brent, Staff writer – Beaumont Enterprise – January 19, 2025
Youth crime has filled headlines in recent years and increasing reports of violent crimes in particular has raised eyebrows among local officials and residents who want the answers to seemingly simple questions — why is this happening and what can Beaumont do to reverse the trend.
Juvenile crime year in review:
The first recorded juvenile crime of 2024 involved assault with a deadly weapon and was followed by other high-profile reports, including a 15-year-old’s August arrest in connection with a Port Arthur shooting and teens as young as 15 and 16 involved in a stolen vehicle and police chase in October. . . Two days into the start of 2024, Beaumont police already logged seven calls related to youth 16 and under. These ranged from contact with a juvenile — to assaults, robberies, trespassing, runaways and sexual assaults. . .
By early November, Beaumont police had reported more than 850 juvenile interactions, over 400 of which fell within Department of Justice’s guidelines for “violent crimes.” Nearly three-dozen of those interactions involved weapons and 72 sexual assaults, including forcible rape, were reported.
https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/beaumont-community-seeks-solutions-youth-crime-19918666.php