New Study: Why Do Some Teens Offend, When Others Do Not?

The State Attorney's Office and the University of Central Florida are starting an unprecedented study of juvenile crime. Researchers have poured through hundreds of cases, but still hope to answer the question, "Why do some teens offend, when others do not?"

In the last few months we’ve seen a 12-year-old charged with robbing an Orlando Walgreens and a 13-year-old on trial for murder. Young suspects are being accused of adult crimes and it’s happening too often for the liking of the Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar.

“I'm having to indict and prosecute far too many youngsters as serious criminals,” said Lamar.

Lamar decided to open his records on juvenile offenders to researchers at the University of Central Florida in the hopes of learning more about "why" juveniles offend.

The hope is to reach more teens and pre-teens before they ever enter the system or worse yet become violent criminals.

“I have to get them out of society by then they're dangerous and we as a society have to turn that corner,” said Lamar.

Turns out for U.C.F. researchers, pouring through volumes of data in phases one and two of this study was the easy part. Researchers did note some trends although they've been mixed.

“Crimes like carjacking in 2006 to have more offenders, home invasions increased,” said Criminal Justice Professor Ray Surrette.

Those types of crimes also involved more violence but, while the overall number of crimes increased between 1995-2006 in Osceola County there was a slight decrease in Orange County.

“Some of these vexing social problems can't be solved by one discipline or one agency,” said Dr. John Ronnau, a social worker.

The last phase of the study will be the most intensive and also the most costly, roughly $70,000.