Brevard Co. sitting criminals down with parents

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The problem of juvenile crime in Brevard County has gotten so bad, the sheriff and state attorney's office want to hold a special meeting where parents will sit down with criminals.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey spoke about the new initiative.

He believes parents are the first line of defense in cleaning up the community.

The sheriff said a lot of parents are just afraid to discipline their children because they're afraid they're going to get in trouble themselves.

That means their undisciplined children are getting in trouble with the law.

The sheriff believes juvenile crime is worse now than ever before.

He said juvenile criminals turn into adult criminals and it becomes a vicious cycle.

The criminals often end up behind bars or getting killed.

He's planning seminars at local churches called "time to be a parent again."

He'll first lay out the type of crimes children are committing.

Then state attorney Phil Archer will talk to parents about what they can do legally to discipline their children without getting in trouble.

"We want our parents to be the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in their child's life. The sheriff or chief of police is not that person in their life, you are. You're with your kid every day. You're responsible for holding them accountable, and more importantly you're the one who has the ability to hold them accountable," Ivey said.

The first seminar is at the new life Christian Church in Titusville on Nov. 23 and a second one will be in January.

A panel of criminals from the Brevard County chain gang will answer questions from parents about what went wrong in their lives.

WFTV