OGDEN -- Hispanic youths account for more than 50 percent of juvenile crimes in Ogden, a rate more than double their percentage of the population, according to statistics provided by the Ogden Police Department.

The rate of crimes committed by Hispanic youths is disproportionate to the percentage of Hispanics living in the city, Police Chief Jon Greiner said. The 2000 census reports that Latinos comprise 23.6 percent of the Ogden city population, he said.

Greiner provided statistics to The Standard-Examiner after an editorial was printed Friday that indicated the percentage of criminals among illegal immigrants is no greater than the population as a whole. The editorial discussed a list of alleged illegal immigrants that was mailed last week to Utah state officials and media outlets and the need for immigration reform.

Gov. Gary Herbert is holding a summit today to discuss Utah's options for illegal immigration. Greiner said he plans to attend.

Greiner said although statistics show that while adult crime is relatively proportionate to population -- with 23.6 percent of the community being Hispanic and an average of 28.84 percent of adults arrested from January to May are Hispanic -- the numbers for Hispanic juveniles committing crimes are significantly greater.

According to the statistics, Hispanics accounted for 53.78 percent of juvenile arrests in the city average from January to May this year.

How that number plays into the illegal immigration issue is unclear, Greiner said.

"Juveniles aren't booked into jail," he said. "We don't ask a juvenile what his status in the country is."

Greiner said generally people who are in the country illegally are identified as such during the booking process at the jail. Because suspects younger than 18 aren't booked in Weber County Jail, they are never identified as legal or illegal residents.

"Traditionally, the illegal component is about 8 to 10 percent," Greiner said.

Jesse Garcia, a former city councilman and Latino community leader, said it's difficult to interpret statistics provided by Greiner without careful review. However, there are local laws on the books used by police that seem to target Latino and other minority youths.

For example, if a group of youths of color are wearing the same color clothing and are together, they can be asked by police to disperse," he said. "I do think it is discriminatory and can set it up for racial profiling. That's always a concern."

Garcia, who plans to attend today's immigration summit, also denounced the list of alleged illegal immigrants mailed last week to members of Utah's media.

"I think the list that was sent out was racially based," he said. "How can you commit a felony (by sending out the list) to go after someone who has committed a civil (illegal immigration) offense? It bothers me.

"We do need to have immigration reform, but we don't need to slant it over to a racial thing. Utah is going backward when it comes to civil rights and things of that nature, instead of going forward."

Robb Hall, director of Youth Impact, said he can't attest to whether the statistics are accurate in his experience. He said any type of gang affiliations are not allowed at Youth Impact, so the staff does not interact with many of the teens who are involved in crime.

"We are kind of isolated because we don't allow it," he said.

He said the facility works with at-risk kids in central Ogden, and about 60 percent of those are of Hispanic descent. The goal is to hold their interest so the kids stay active in the programs and consequently out of trouble, he said.

"The major thing is to find interests they have and then offer it to them," he said. "Our whole goal is to find them an interest so they can dive into it.

"It's just a positive reinforcement 24/7. It's a kind of constant support system day in and day out."

Archie Archuleta, a longtime Latino activist from Salt Lake City, doesn't buy Greiner's contention that Hispanic youths commit more crimes than other ethnic groups.

"If those figures are accurate, there is a reason for it, but I don't trust those figures," he said. "People have been using those kind of figures about undocumented workers and saying they commit the preponderance of crime, and that's not true. So figures about juvenile crime at best are suspect.

"Ogden has never been famous for standing up for real civil rights," Archuleta said. "That isn't saying there aren't people in Ogden, both Latino, black and white, who are trying to keep Ogden on a good civil-rights plane. If people are segregated both economically and socially, they become alienated. With all the good intentions of everyone around them, it becomes difficult when people are looked down upon. There is always the resentment and insensitivity."

Greiner said that he plans attend Herbert's summit today to join the discussion on Utah's options for dealing with immigration reform. He was invited to the event because of his dual status as senator and police chief for the racially diverse city of Ogden.

While Greiner said he doesn't have a particular goal for the summit, he said he wants to discuss certain ideas that he has found offensive.

"What offends me is the first thought in people's minds is that law enforcement is looking to be racist, to racial profile," he said. "I think we are perfectly capable of doing a professional job."

Greiner also said he felt certain groups are misrepresenting the truth of what is illegal and legal and civil.

"We should just put facts on the table, so everybody can see them and work towards what solution works for the state of Utah," he said.
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