Youth Arrest Rates Drop
To read this article on the WIFR TV website, click here.
ROCKFORD (WIFR) — Our kids are getting into trouble with police less often than they were a few years ago, but despite those numbers data from the state shows Winnebago County has one of the highest juvenile arrest rates in the state.
Every day Boys and Girls Club gyms across Rockford are packed with kids.
“To me that’s saving lives because if we can take one off the streets, if I’ve got 80 kids in this club at nighttime, that’s 80 kids off the streets,” Blackhawk Boys and Girls Club Unit Director Mike Ayers, said.
Mike Ayers has seen thousands of kids come to the Blackhawk Boys and Girls Club. He says many have seen shootings and drug deals, but the center gives kids another option.