CLEVELAND — Straighten up at home or find yourself in secure detention — two dozen teens accused in Cleveland car thefts have been given that choice as part of a pilot program through the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Courts.
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The city said it’s a partnership to address carjackings and car thefts.
Those crimes haven’t stopped in Cleveland, and overall, people are rattled by what has happened since the summer.
The courts believe the pilot program is effective.
Pattie Capps couldn’t sleep soundly for days after her SUV was stolen at gunpoint last week on W. 117th while she stopped for lottery tickets.
"The city's gotten really, really bad, and I'm about ready to call it quits and get out,” Capps said.
No one’s been arrested in that case.
In August, a woman was killed in Old Brooklyn when a stolen Kia hit the car she was riding in.
A 16-year-old boy is charged with murder in the case.
"I just wish there was something we could do to make it better,” Capps said.
For kids who haven’t committed carjackings or other violent crimes, there’s a program designed to keep them on track to finish out their court cases.
"It is to attend school, follow the rules, be where you're supposed to be,” Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Deputy Court Administrator Bridget Gibbons said.
The car theft pilot program by the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court started in July.
Kids are sent home with ankle monitors and told where they can and cannot go.
Gibbons says when they’re not in school and not with their families, they’re more likely to re-offend.
"I know car theft is very serious obviously, it can result in horrible outcomes. These are for youth that do not have a long juvenile justice involvement, and the purpose of utilizing this is to help make sure we have room for the kids that their behavior involves guns,” Gibbons said.
In the first month, a 12-year-old girl cut off her ankle monitor in just days, according to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O’Malley.
O’Malley said the girl was in a stolen car when a brutal beating happened outside a gas station.
News 5 asked Gibbons how successful the pilot program has been.
"So far, the small number of kids that we've had participate in the program, we've had an 83% success rate,” Gibbons said.
Twenty-four children have been placed in the program, according to the courts. Thirteen completed it successfully, six are still in it, and three violated the terms by tampering with their monitors.
One of them is still wanted by the police.
"We're going to do the best that we can to assess each individual case of who's appropriate to place on an ankle monitor,” Gibbons said.
In a statement, Cleveland Public Safety said it’s encouraged by the program’s initial participation, and they’re now assessing the long-term impact.
"We're optimistic it's still early to tell and see how it's going to continue on, but we think it's been effective in helping sort of slow down the car thefts,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons said they know arrests and 24-7 electronic monitoring aren’t going to be the only solution — that it’s going to take services and support for families to empower parents and help kids make better choices.
Those services come when a child is put on probation.
