Clarksville, TN – Since May 24th, 2023, the last day of school in Montgomery County, the Clarksville Police Department (CPD) has responded to 249 calls involving juveniles, resulting in 43 juveniles being charged with non-violent criminal activity.
These charges range from curfew violations, vehicle burglary, joyriding, criminal impersonation, and traffic violations.
Additionally, CPD has charged six juveniles involved in violent crimes, (a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old for criminal homicide), a 17-year-old for aggravated assault/reckless endangerment, a 14-year-old for aggravated burglary, and a 17-year-old for aggravated domestic assault.
Since May 24th, Clarksville Police Department officers have spent more than 30 man-hours transporting juveniles to and from a juvenile detention center. Every local law enforcement agency currently relies on a juvenile facility outside of Montgomery County when a juvenile needs to be detained by court order.
So far this year, CPD has accumulated over 650 man-hours transporting juveniles, costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars in wages and transportation costs. This does not take into account the hours spent by juvenile support staff who work diligently to find an available location/facility when needed. The amount of time spent transporting juveniles to and from facilities outside of our jurisdiction continues to detract from the day-to-day operations of our officers.
Robert J. Nash, District Attorney General for the 19th Judicial District stated, “The information contained in this release is staggering and should shock the conscience of the citizens of Montgomery County. This 3-week period of juvenile crime is evidence of the need for a juvenile detention facility in Montgomery County.”
I encourage parents and family members to supervise these young people. The Criminal Justice System is a poor substitute for parental supervision. Further, the District Attorney’s Office has no other choice but to prosecute juvenile offenders to the fullest extent of the law and, when applicable, to prosecute said juveniles as adults,” General Nash said.
There are numerous resources and programs available for citizens to have their children involved in over the summer months. CPD’s Juvenile Engagement Team (J.E.T.) and the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department, both host events and activities that are available for local youth and teens.
Go to the city’s website: www.CityofClarksville.com for more information.
The City of Clarksville ordinance regarding curfew for minors is located in Section 10-205 of the city code. The code states:
Sec. 10-205. – Curfew for minors.
It shall be unlawful for any minor fifteen (15) years of age and younger to loiter, idle, wander, stroll, or play in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, or other public grounds, public places or public buildings, places of amusement and entertainment, vacant lots, or other unsupervised places between the hours of 11:00pm and 6:00am on the following day. Furthermore, it shall be unlawful for any minor over the age of fifteen (15) years, but under the age of eighteen (18) years, to loiter, idle, wander, stroll, or play in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds or other public grounds, public places or other public buildings, places of amusement and entertainment, vacant lots, or other unsupervised places between the hours of 1:00am and 6:00am. It is provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to a minor accompanied by his parent, guardian, or other adult person having the care and custody of the minor, or where the minor is upon an emergency errand or legitimate business directed or authorized by his parent, guardian, or other adult person having the care and custody of the minor, or if the minor is married or is a member of the armed services. (Ord. No. 71-1983-84; Ord. No. 65-1994-95, 3-2-95)
There are numerous resources and programs available for citizens to have their children involved in over the summer months. CPD’s Juvenile Engagement Team and the City of Clarksville Parks and Recreation are both hosting events and activities available for youth and teens. Go to the city’s website: CityofClarksville.com for more information.
CPD continues to promote the concept of “Park Smart”. So far, year-to-date statistics regarding vehicle burglaries include 234 reports, with 48 firearms being reported as stolen from these vehicles.
The common denominator in a majority of these reports is that the vehicles were left unlocked and the keys or key fob was left inside the vehicle and in some instances, the vehicle was left running and unoccupied.
The Clarksville Police Department continues to urge the public to “Park Smart”.
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Lock your vehicle.
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Secure your valuables (including firearms).
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Take your keys/key fob with you.
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Don’t leave your vehicle running and unattended.
Many of these crimes are deemed a crime of opportunity and involves juveniles. Ring cameras and other types of video surveillance cameras have captured images of individuals “car hopping”. Being a victim of vehicle burglary is avoidable and preventable, Park Smart! The Clarksville Police Department continues to allocate resources and extra patrols in the affected areas and urges the citizens to be vigilant and help continue making Clarksville a great place to work and live.
