LETA KELLEY introduced Judge Loretta Rush and Rebecca
Humphrey, Tippecanoe County Your Services Executive Director, who spoke on
the proposed Juvenile Detention Center for Tippecanoe County.
Judge Rush has served the residents of Tippecanoe County in Superior Court 3
for the past 10 years.
The Judge gave background on the type of cases that come before her court and
the rise in incidences since she was seated in 1999. She said today there are 4
times as many offenders, these are younger and younger youth, and the crimes
are more and more serious.
There is no center within 90 miles for our youth. When any child is arrested now,
they are taken to our adult facility and handcuffed to a bench where they may be
for up to 6 hours before transport. They must have a hearing within 48 hours, so
they are returned here for that, but there is no assessment where they are
detained.
The majority of kids are positive on drug screens; there is 3 times the
THC/marijuana content in the screens today,
The average age of the offender in the system today is 14 years of age. Gang
members are in her court daily. Her review of offender's My Space pages tells
much.
