Watertown City Leadership Urged to Address Alarming Spike in Juvenile Violence

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - While annual crime statistics show a general downward trend in Watertown, a deeper dive into the data has prompted a call for action from city leadership. During Monday night’s City Council meeting, Councilman Doug Allen highlighted a startling 400% increase in juvenile rape arrests, urging the city to shift more resources toward combating domestic and sexual violence.

The discussion followed a recent public safety press briefing conducted by the Watertown Police and Fire Departments. While Allen praised the quality of work performed by both departments, he reasoned that the “real world” statistics regarding assaults paint a troubling picture for the community.

The Statistics: A Sharp Increase in Juvenile Violence

The annual report revealed a series of sobering “calls for service” and arrest records:

·         Family and Domestic Violence: 273 family disturbances and 118 domestic assaults.

·         Sexual Offenses: 103 calls for service related to sexual contact, rape, or indecent exposure.

·         Juvenile Arrests: 60 arrests of juveniles for simple assault and four juvenile arrests for rape.

Allen specifically pointed to the jump from zero juvenile rape arrests in the previous reporting period to four this year. “That’s a 400% increase... we really should be seeing zero reports,” Allen stated.

The “Trust vs. Occurrence” Debate

During the initial briefing, Police Chief Toomey suggested that rising report numbers might actually be a “positive thing,” as it indicates victims have more trust in the police than in years past.

Councilman Allen acknowledged that while trust is vital, the raw increase in violence cannot be overlooked. Drawing on a personal anecdote, Allen recounted being a victim of an aggravated assault—involving being “punched and kicked and bloodied”—during his own youth in Watertown, an incident he never reported at the time.

“I’d like to think that that’s changed,” Allen said, though he expressed deep concern that many of today’s youth are still “solving problems with violence”. He urged the city to “nip that in the bud,” particularly within the school system.

A Call for Resources and Representation

Allen’s primary argument centered on the allocation of city resources. He noted that while the city focuses heavily on drug enforcement and DUIs, more emphasis must be placed on domestic assaults, where the victims are predominantly women.

He highlighted the Beacon Center, a local domestic violence shelter currently struggling to replace lost funding, as a critical service in need of support. Furthermore, Allen linked the issue to a lack of female representation in local governance.

“As I look around at the leadership in the community and I look around at this City Council, I don’t see very many women,” Allen observed. He argued that increasing the number of women in leadership roles would help the community “reallocate resources in a different way” to better address these crimes.

Moving Forward

While the Councilman applauded alternative programs at the Boys and Girls Club for helping juveniles find non-violent ways to solve problems, he remained firm that the city’s work is far from over.

“I just think it points to a real need,” Allen concluded. “I urge you to redouble our efforts in this area”.

Watertown Police Chief Responds

Watertown Police Chief Tim Toomey released a statement responding to Councilman Allen below:

I want to thank Councilman Allen for taking the time to carefully review the Watertown Police Department’s Annual Report and for raising concerns about the statistics related to both juvenile and adult violence. I sincerely appreciate his comments and his willingness to engage in a discussion about these issues. The purpose of publishing our annual report is exactly that, to provide a transparent look at public safety in our community and to encourage thoughtful dialogue about the challenges we face together.

I agree with the underlying point: any incident involving violence is one too many. These are deeply concerning events for victims, families, and the entire community. At the same time, violence is a complex issue with no single cause or quick fix. Factors such as socioeconomic challenges, substance abuse, family dynamics, and other underlying issues often play a role. Because of that complexity, reducing violence requires a coordinated effort that goes well beyond traditional law enforcement.

The Watertown Police Department has devoted significant effort to prevention, intervention, and partnership in this area. One of our most important strategies is working closely with our community partners. An example would be that we hold a seat on the Board of Directors of the Beacon Center, helping ensure strong collaboration between law enforcement and victim services.

Addressing domestic violence is another priority. Every domestic violence call for service is assigned for follow-up investigation to ensure we do everything possible to protect victims and hold offenders accountable.

We also recognize that violence is often connected to substance abuse, which is why we have a representative working closely with the problem-solving courts, including Drug Court, to support rehabilitation and accountability. 

We have also expanded our approach to include additional resources focused on prevention and support. The department now has a social worker and a mental health officer who work directly with families to connect them to community services and support systems that can help address underlying issues before they escalate into violence.

Our School Resource Officers play a critical role in prevention as well. They work daily with students, families, and school staff to address conflicts early and build positive relationships with young people. For example, our middle school School Resource Officer, Officer Beyl, developed and implemented an anti-bullying campaign designed to reduce conflict and violence among students. As you can see in the annual report, our SROs spend a great deal of time working on conflict resolution to help solve issues before they end up in violence. Our officers also work closely with school administrators, probation, Human Service Agency staff, the Boys and Girls Club, and many other partners.

The Watertown Police Department was instrumental in helping develop the current diversion program at the Boys and Girls Club, which provides constructive alternatives for youth who may be at risk. We also founded and continue to invest in the DASH program (Drug Free, Alcohol Free, Safe, and Healthy) which focuses on empowering young people to make positive choices and live healthy lives. Through DASH and other youth initiatives, officers coach, mentor, and participate in activities that provide positive role models for youth in our community.

In addition, the department helped develop the REACH Clinic, a multi-agency effort designed to reduce child abuse through coordinated response and support for vulnerable families. We also have a dedicated officer assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, focusing on protecting children from exploitation and abuse.

These efforts reflect our commitment to working with our community partners to address all forms of violence, including domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault. While the numbers highlighted in the annual report show that challenges remain, they also reinforce why these partnerships and prevention efforts are so important.  Every aspect of policing is focused on reducing violence, after all our mission is to provide a safe place for work, live, visit, and raise a family.

Again, we appreciate Councilman Allen’s comments and his careful review of the report. Open discussion and community engagement are essential parts of improving public safety. The Watertown Police Department remains committed to transparency, collaboration, and continuing to strengthen our efforts to reduce violence in our community. As Councilman Allen stated, we will “double down” on our approach to crime reduction.