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Police confiscate four different guns from teen during separate stops
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BAKER - Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn said his department confiscated four different guns from a teen during four different stops in the same week.
It happened as Dunn tried to call attention to a growing problem in his area echoed by so many others. Teens are wreaking havoc in our communities, and the judges who impose justice on them are seeing the increase.
Last week, Dunn held a visual news conference where he put all of the weapons on display that had been confiscated from juveniles in his community.
"No one should need these to go to a community event," Dunn said.
During that news conference, he said his officers are having to stay vigilant as they are often overpowered in terms of fire power by the gun-toting teens on the streets.
"Police officers can't even come to work without wearing something like this," Dunn said as he pointed to a bulletproof vest. "You want to know why they are wearing something like this, because I have 14, 15 and 16-year-olds driving around with handguns that you can't purchase until you are 21."
As Dunn referenced the weapons that were confiscated, he said there was not a charge that fit the juveniles because they could not determine if the guns were stolen. Many of them have no purchase records.
Last year, the WBRZ Investigative Unit profiled the problems involving an increase in juvenile crimes.
Juvenile Court Judge Adam Haney said the increase is real not just here in Baton Rouge but around the nation.
"Violent crime particularly juvenile crime is up across the country," Haney said. "This is not just a Baton Rouge problem. It's happening all over the place, and I don't think anyone has a good handle on what's driving this."
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