COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — It’s a story that’s played out in central Ohio over and over: teenagers stealing cars, putting themselves and others in danger.

NBC4 Investigates looked into what happens to kids who commit serious crimes after they enter the court system and whether the court’s interventions are making the community safer.

From January 2021 through April 2023, 956 kids had stolen vehicle cases filed against them in Franklin County Juvenile Court. The data, shared with NBC4 by the court, showed 248 stolen vehicle cases during the first four months of 2023, which equaled the number of cases filed during that same time period in 2021.

“In our courtroom as well as across the country, we have seen the impact,” said Lasheyl Stroud, the lead juvenile judge in Franklin County.

Stroud and other public officials trace the influx in vehicle thefts to videos on social media showing users how to steal cars.

“A lot of people in the community feel like nothing is being done at all in that these youth are being arrested and then they’re right back on the street within minutes and then in another car,” Stroud said. “That is simply not true.”

According to the court’s data, 63% of the juveniles charged in vehicle theft cases are detained until they appear before a judge.

Stroud said detaining a child accused of a crime is a last resort because of the negative effects it can have on the child. She said one night in detention can decrease their chance of graduating high school by 50%.

“If anything, you push children deeper in the system when you expose them whether it’s to confinement or to other youth who are the youth who should be detained based on community safety and safety to themselves,” Stroud said. “When you expose a youth who should not be there, to that environment and other youth, then you increase their chances of reoffending and coming back.”

Stroud and other Franklin County juvenile judges use a two-page screening instrument to help them decide more objectively whether to detain a child. The instrument lists factors such as outstanding warrants, the severity of the charge, prior offenses, and the child’s age. Ultimately, Stroud said, the decision is based on whether a child is a threat to the community or themselves.

To keep kids out of detention, Franklin County has expanded its diversion programs with an emphasis on connecting families to resources and social services before children commit more serious crimes.

The court has also expanded its Juvenile Community Enrichment Services (JCES) as the counterpart to what would be considered probation in the adult justice system.

“What we formerly called probation we now have specialists who act more as coaches for the youth and develop a case plan based on the individualized needs of the youth and the family, so to know that you have another adult who is supportive and genuinely wants to help you,” Stroud said.

Court officials say GPS ankle monitors are also used more frequently, particularly for kids in stolen vehicle cases.

While the juvenile restitution program has been around for years, court officials say it’s become a lot more common with the rise in vehicle thefts.

“We know a lot of our families, [if not] for programs like these, may not be able to pay restitution,” Stroud said. “It’s not because the parents don’t want to pay back whatever the victims are out, but just because they don’t have the means or the ability for their children to find jobs.”

The court partners with community service organizations where offenders can work for $10 per hour for up to 50 hours to pay for up to $500 in restitution to victims.

“Not only has it increased the amount of restitution victims receive in these cases, I think it makes them have the feeling of accomplishment,” Stroud said.

Stroud believes these programs have had positive impacts on kids and juvenile crime as filings and recidivism rates are down across the board from 2022.

Of the 956 kids in Franklin County charged in stolen vehicle cases between January 2021 and April 2023, 330 of them had more than one stolen vehicle case during that time frame.

For offenders who are detained, the experience can be daunting.

“I used to be one of those kids. I used to think, ‘Hey, I can do this. I’m not going to get caught,'” said Alejandro Rodriguez, 21. “And when I went to jail, a whole different story.”

Amid a challenging childhood in Columbus, Rodriguez was 16 years old when he committed an armed robbery.

“I grew up around a lot of shootings and stuff like that, so I feel like that impacted me a lot,” Rodriguez said. “My stepdad got deported, my mom was struggling to pay bills. I just felt like I was in a position to where I was like, ‘I’ve got to stand up.'”

Rodriguez spent eight months in the Franklin County Juvenile Intervention Center while he waited for sentencing. He said staying out of trouble there took effort.

“Everyone else around me, they was getting in fights and stuff like that,” he said. “My whole point of view of the whole thing was like, ‘I need to get better before I go back out there.'”

Rodriguez said his mindset to manage his emotions and better himself in detention placed him in a minority.

“Not to sound cocky,” he said, “But I was wiser than most of the people in there because I feel like most of them were arrogant, short-tempered, stuff like that.”

Rodriguez credits the resources available through the juvenile justice system with getting him on the right track.

Formerly a low-performing student who frequently skipped school, Rodriguez began to enjoy reading books. He connected with his math teacher in detention and grew to enjoy that subject as well. He also learned some valuable lessons through a Division of Youth Services alternative program.

“They teach you human health behavior,” Rodriguez said. “Like why criminals think the way they think. Studying that stuff kind of made me [think] like, ‘Oh this is kind of messed up what people are doing.’ It gave me more sympathy for other people as well.”

When his sentence ended, Rodriguez said he felt supported by his JCES specialist who encouraged him to cut ties with the people he spent time with before he was detained.

Rodriguez said he’s since made new friends. He recently started a roofing business and records music in his spare time.

“All the things I’m working on right now, it’s giving me hope,” he said. “I feel like the system works just because I went in negative, came out positive on the other side.”

Rodriguez said some of the kids he knew from juvenile detention were either suspects or victims in violent crimes shortly after they were released. But he believes the opportunities to succeed are available to those who choose to take advantage of them.

“You could change your circumstances no matter who you’re around or what you’re doing because I’ve done it firsthand,” Rodriguez said. “All you have to do is have that mindset and that willpower behind that.”