Local leaders urge unified push on juvenile‑justice bill amid rising youth gun incidents
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Summary
Commissioners and council members discussed juvenile justice reforms and House Bill 2329, saying Wichita has seen a steep rise in juvenile firearm bookings and urging a joint city‑county legislative approach to create placement options and revisit 2016 statute SB 367.
A later segment of the en banc turned to juvenile justice policy, where county commissioners described the consequences of the 2016 juvenile reforms (often referred to as SB 367) and asked city council members to join a push on a new legislative package.
Commissioner (speaker who introduced the item) summarized past reforms and said the county has been tracking troubling juvenile trends, including an estimate that 200 youth were booked into juvenile detention last year with firearm possession. He described House Bill 2329 as a vehicle to increase detention limits for serious juvenile offenders, authorize new residential placements for criminogenic youth and direct the secretary of corrections to cover placement costs from evidence‑based program funds.
Commissioners and council members discussed prevention programs, the need for criminogenic beds (county staff said HB 2329 would create roughly 35–45 statewide beds), concerns about creating a pipeline to adult incarceration, and the challenge of limited foster‑care and placement options. The commissioner asked that one council delegate attend a closed stakeholder meeting to refine the bill before further public work.
No formal city or county vote was taken; leaders said they would continue stakeholder conversations and coordinate delegation and testimony during next year—s legislative session.