In an attempt to address the unsettling rise of teen violence in Maricopa County, a new initiative titled "Report, Don’t Repost" has been launched by Rachel Mitchell, the county’s chief prosecutor. Mitchell urged the community, during a press conference, to help law enforcement by directly reporting incidents of teen violence rather than proliferating them across social media platforms, which often exacerbates the problem and inflicts additional harm on victims and their families.
The "Report, Don’t Repost" campaign comes in response to a disquieting uptick in violent crimes perpetrated by minors. According to a report from AZFamily, there was a 32% increase in the number of minors charged as adults the previous year, with a vast majority of those cases involving violent offenses. Highlighting the urgency, the campaign is supported by 13 Valley police departments and seeks active engagement from teens, educators, and parents.
Illustrating the difficulties that law enforcement and prosecutors face, Mitchell commented on the issues presented by viral videos of teen violence, stating, "Teens will often record themselves and their peers in fights or doing other things that they shouldn’t be doing. Many times, the videos created end up going viral on social media. And the problem is they never get reported to law enforcement. A lot of the times it lacks context," as detailed by AZFamily.
Making the cases more difficult to investigate is when adolescents are involved, these videos are often stripped of the context necessary for a proper legal assessment. Echoing the concerns of parents and community members, Rick Kuehner, whose son was a victim of assault, pointed to the necessity of law enforcement to take timely action. In a statement highlighted by FOX 10 Phoenix, Kuehner expressed dissatisfaction with the initial police response, asserting, "For the police chief to say there was no probable cause is totally frustrating and totally inaccurate."
Despite some skepticism about the campaign's potential impact, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office remains steadfast about the importance of the "Report, Don’t Repost" initiative. Resources have been made available for the community at the county attorney’s website.
