Ask an Officer

Question: What happens with a juvenile who is involved in a criminal incident within the City of Euclid, and what is an unruly juvenile? 

Answer from Detective Dan Sawyer, Juvenile Unit & Kate McLaughlin, Community Policing Unit:   

Students fighting with each other at school, youths trespassing on private property, and drug possession are three examples of criminal activities requiring police investigation. Officers that respond to an incident, that involves youths engaged in criminal activity, investigate the complaint and then complete a report and fact sheets for the juveniles involved.  These juveniles are either taken home or taken into custody until the parent or guardian can pick them up at the police department.  The report and fact sheets are processed by the Juvenile Unit then sent to Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court for intake processing. The Court will determine the charge and whether court action will be taken, or if the juvenile is eligible for Euclid’s Juvenile Diversion Program.  If the case remains with Juvenile Court, the family will be contacted by the Juvenile Court, where the family can address the issue of guilt or innocence.  If the case is sent to Juvenile Diversion, the family will be contacted by the police department’s diversion administrator.  Diversion is only for juveniles that will admit to the offense.  Diversion juveniles who complete all sanctions without violating any of the conditions, and if the juvenile does not commit another crime or status offense before age 18, will have the informal diversion record destroyed.  This allows the juvenile a second chance to have a clean record for employment or higher education opportunities. 

Unruly juveniles are defined as any child who does not submit to the reasonable control of the child's parents, teachers, guardian, or custodian, by reason of being wayward or habitually disobedient; and any child who behaves in a manner as to injure or endanger the child's own health or morals or the health or morals of others.  When parents file an unruly charge against their child, which is a status offense, it will be processed in the same manner as a criminal offense and the juvenile will be required to attend court or a diversion program. 

If you would like to submit a question to Ask an Officer, contact Community Policing at the Euclid Police Department:  email kmclaughlin@cityofeuclid.com or call 216-289-8449.