BURIEN, Wash. — The King County Prosecutor's Office said it's seeing an increase in teenagers committing crimes.
Some organizations are intervening to help stop these types of crimes and hopefully lead young people down a better path.
CHOOSE 180 is based in Burien and started back in 2011. The organization is made up of more than 30 people who serve as mentors and advocates for young people, working to prevent youth crime by empowerment. They said they actively work to transform the juvenile criminal legal system and break the "school-to-prison pipeline."
“So, this mural actually was done by one of our participants that was referred to us for graffiti,” said Nneka Payne, the executive director of Choose 180, referring to a mural at their office. "He even put ‘It’s not a program, it is an opportunity for choice.’ That just really sums up what we are about here."
The mission of Payne and her team is to keep young people out of the criminal legal system and focus on prevention and restoration. Many young people they serve have either been involved in the criminal legal system already or are considered at-risk. Some of the people who work there also have a history with the criminal legal system, which allows young people to relate to adults who have lived experience.
“It's really important that they understand this is not your story,” said Payne. “This might be one page of the story, but there are always opportunities to turn that page and really take back what your narrative is.”
Right now, in King County, the prosecutor’s office said they have been seeing an increase in youth crimes. A spokesperson said youth crimes decreased during 2020 and 2021, but in 2023 made its way back to near pre-pandemic levels.
Payne said it is disheartening to see harmful behavior by young people but said root causes need to be looked at.
“It’s not to say there's not the need for accountability for those things, but I think that there's an added layer that that needs to be considered,” said Payne.
Payne wants to empower young people to make the choice to create a better future and support them along the way.
“It will continue to take all of us to see a more equitable future for our young people,” said Payne.
CHOOSE 180 is involved with ten schools in King County and last year worked with around 400 young people last year.
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