CLEVELAND — A woman told News 5 Thursday she was one of three carjacking cases in one night this week.
The same day, the Mayor’s office sent out a news release, in part, announcing the launch of a pilot program to take on carjackings and car thefts.
Officials with the Cleveland Police Department tell News 5 many of those involved in recent car thefts are teens.
The pilot program is a collaboration with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office, Juvenile Court and Cleveland Police.
The court said the program is intended for teens who steal cars when the owner isn’t around.
They go through a review to see if they’re eligible for home monitoring. Teens in carjackings are considered for juvenile detention while their case is pending.
Right now, five teens are in the pilot program, launched July 1, to reduce car thefts in Cleveland.
When teens are arrested in stolen car cases, they’re brought to Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court right away and given ankle monitors.
But the court says not all are eligible for the home monitoring pilot program.
Teens with serious car theft histories or who are arrested with a gun would be considered for secure detention, and carjacking cases would be excluded from the program.
As far as car thefts, the latest numbers from Cleveland police show they’re up 97% over the same period one year ago — 1,839 cases in 2022 compared to 3,633 in 2023.
The juvenile court told News 5 the goal is to help keep kids in the program from going back out and stealing cars again.
It’s also to reduce the time officers spend on teen arrests so they can return to work on other safety issues.
In a story we brought you Thursday, a carjacking victim told News 5 it was a teen who put a gun to her head Wednesday night after she was boxed in and pulled from her Durango.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
She said the teen ran off, appearing terrified. She said she was beaten in the face before the carjackers took off.
We’re told the five teens in the program showed up for court and are in compliance with electronic monitoring.
The court says the teens are monitored by pretrial staff. The court will evaluate the program to see if it is working.
