In recent years the thefts of vehicles by very young people has been an ongoing problem which has plagued the public, police, and prosecutors.
The case of a repeat teen offender prompted us to ask what can really be done in such cases - even as those suspects may be under more surveillance.
There have been past scenes and aerial video showing arrests tied to stolen vehicles with Buffalo police, Erie County deputies, state police, and other agencies all trying to crack down on vehicle theft.
But now reports of a 14-year-old girl arrested for stealing a car (yes a Kia Sportage) around 4 AM Thursday. And then BPD says the same girl was arrested yet again. This time police say she was with several other teens who stole another vehicle on Friday morning.
First off she is a minor. So former Erie County District Attorney and current Lippes, Mathias attorney John Flynn says, "Adjudication process is gonna take place in Family Court. The only time that an individual that young is gonna get in quote - unquote Adult Court is gonna be for you know a murder, or a rape or something."
Flynn says, "The whole discussion of whatever changes we're gonna make to bail reform and the new bail reform laws - that really doesn't even apply to Family Court. For you to tell me that she did it one night - again allegedly - and then did it again a second night doesn't surprise me at all."
The former prosecutor further provides some insight into very young offenders. "They only think about the immediate. They don't think about a long term. And so their immediacy is that they know they're not going to jail right now. They know they're not getting bail put on them."
And even as a repeat offender, Flynn says Family Court emphasizes services like counseling, a return to school, and family outreach. "What we all recognize as adults. That they are kids and kids sometimes need some guidance. They sometimes need a steer in the right direction."
However Flynn notes, "A 12, 13, 14 year old is just blowing off services and has a bad attitude about trying to get help. Well then you gotta hold them accountable."
So maybe a judge ordered stay at the Erie County Youth Services Center on Ferry Street. "Placing them in a youth detention facility, no kid wants that. No parent or adult really wants that either."
Flynn also told WGRZ that prosecutors have asked for state lawmakers to take a closer look and seek some solutions for the car theft issue with the frequent involvement of teens under age 18. Flynn says they were told that car theft was more of a Western New York problem and the legislature was more focused on addressing retail theft.
Whatever the case here, car thieves young and old are under more frequent watch with the Sheriff's Air One Chopper for above ground, safer pursuits of perhaps desperate, dangerous drivers.
Lt. Jeremy Lehning of the Erie County Sheriff's Office says, "They will often times drive the wrong way down one way streets at a high rate of speed in an attempt to avoid being tracked. Red lights, stop signs, Any type of traffic control device is completely disregarded."
2 On Your Side asked "When they get in these residential areas - does that really scare you?"
Lt. Lehning responded, "Yes, yes, you have people in residential areas that are out walking their dogs, they're out just walking with family members, kids."
Lehning added, "It's a huge risk and one which we have to address as quickly as possible. And by having Air One out there - that's just another - another way for us to start to reel this thing back in a little bit and start to gain control of it."
The Erie County Sheriff's Office Helicopter, for which they are seeking a more expensive model as a replacement, does provide more coordination and communication for various police agencies tracking a stolen car.
Lehning says they do hope more news reports of Air One surveillance might help serve as a deterrent to car thieves.
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