INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A disturbing number of juveniles have been arrested and found guilty of felonies in Marion County.

I-Team 8 uncovered more than 650 cases just in 2022 and 2023.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears told I-Team 8 that the number of guilty verdicts on felonies from juvenile court does not tell the full picture of the crimes of people 17 and younger in Marion County.

“These numbers tell part of the story, but it’s important to remember that most of the first charges juveniles face are going to be for gun crimes as a misdemeanor,” Mears said.

Misdemeanors were not included in the statistics I-Team 8 uncovered. What I-Team 8 collected were felonies, most of which are the least serious

Mears says prosecuting juveniles is like walking a high wire with serious consequences. His office and judges in juvenile court are trying to strike the balance between holding kids accountable and giving them a chance to turn their lives around, which is made more difficult given the backgrounds of many of them.

“A lot of these kids that we interact with are in bad environments. They’re in unstable housing. They’re dealing with domestic issues inside the home. They’re dealing with mental health issues inside the home. They’re dealing with addiction issues inside the home, and a lot of times the kids that we’re seeing are forced to be adults in their family because the parents aren’t there,” the Democrat prosecutor said.

Chief Chris Bailey said the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is trying its best to have early intervention with kids by steering them toward programs such as a summer camp.

“We had a great camp that went for two weeks in a row that serviced a couple hundred kids, were in classrooms and mentoring every single day,” Bailey said.

Those types of intervention can only go so far. The IMPD chief says parents still need to play a major role. “We need our parents to make sure they step up, our guardians and grandparents to do their part and be parents to make sure our kids stay on the right path.”

The prosecutor said, “All of us want to see parents take responsibility for their kids, but we also understand that that doesn’t always happen, and so we as a community can’t just sit there and say, ‘We’re just going to leave these kids behind because you had the misfortune of having bad mom and dad.’

“We still have to wrap our arms around those kids and figure out a solution for those kids,” Mears said.