Juvenile crimes are down overall, but the share of 13-year-old suspects accused of "serious crimes" has almost doubled, according to data from Nashville's juvenile court.

Twenty-seven 13-year-olds were charged with serious crimes like homicide, aggravated robbery, car theft and gun possession in 2018. That's up from 14 in the same age group the year before.

“It’s a very, very small population," said Kathy Sinback, the court administrator at Davidson County Juvenile Court. “But it’s a significant increase."

Kyle Yorlets homicide drew more attention to young suspects

The surge has caught the attention of the police force and Nashville's juvenile court. Their focus intensified after the shooting death of Nashville musician Kyle Yorlets. Five young people, ages 12-16, have been charged with homicide in the case.

Police and juvenile court officials can't say for sure why there's been a surge in the number of 13-year-olds charged with serious crimes. But they agree it is a pivotal age when a confluence of factors can increase the risk of illegal activity.

"That's something that we've absolutely been alerted to, and we've been in close communication with our school resource division and public schools," said Lt. Blaine Whited, who supervises the police department's juvenile crime task force. "Maybe some more emphasis needs to be put on middle school children rather than high school age children."

'A gap in services' for young, troubled Nashvillians

Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway agreed, saying filling "a gap in the services” for middle schoolers in their early teens would be an obvious first step.

“If we don’t have them in positive activities, there’s a good chance that you can lose kids that age," Calloway said. “It is a recipe for unhealthy behaviors."

Calloway would not comment on the case, but she said “people are asking more about what they can do" following Yorlets' death.

“We as a community have a lack of programs, lack of after-school activities, lack of places for that age group to go," she said.

As an example, Calloway pointed out that Opportunity NOW, a youth employment program stemming from city efforts to shrink youth violence, only kicks in for young people 14 and older.

Sinback said an increased focus on middle schools would identify pathways to crime that could be closed off. She said age 13, and the transition to middle school, is when many young offenders "are getting disconnected from the school system.”

Part of that is because, in middle school, it is easier to expel students.

“Our schools are not set up to deal with kids who have experienced the trauma these kids have experienced," Sinback said. “The behaviors get more serious and the responses get more serious.”

Students expelled from middle schools go to alternative schools.

Those environments don't encourage attendance or good behavior, Sinback said. Metro police recently announced they were pulling officers out of the city's two alternative schools because of "verbal abuse" that prevented the officers from doing their jobs.

MORE:Police say juvenile suspects in Kyle Yorlets' death are linked to five auto thefts

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Sinback said troubled students need "extra support" as they enter adolescence and middle school.

“They’re dealing with problems in different ways, and we have to be prepared as a school and a community to learn how to encourage and love these kids,” she said. “When kids aren’t getting an education and don’t have positive things to do, they end up involved in more negative things."

Handgun possession, car thefts up among juveniles

The number of serious juvenile offenses ticked down slightly from 2017 to 2018. Steep drops were seen in assaults, burglaries and robberies.

But jumps in other categories help explain a shifting focus for law enforcement.

Handgun possession charges were up year over year, jumping from from 202 in 2017 to 237 last year. And vehicle theft charges are up from 246 in 2017 to 268 this year.

Police say stolen cars and guns were linked with the Yorlets case. Brentwood and Franklin police teamed up earlier this month to host a law enforcement summit to combat the combination of young people stealing cars and carrying illegal guns.

Whited, the Nashville lieutenant, said he's seen vehicle thefts and illegal guns as "gateway crimes" that can lead young offenders quickly into violence.

"When you start involving youth with stolen vehicles and firearms," Whited said, "it doesn't get much more volatile than that."

STOLEN GUNS:Gun thefts from cars up 85 percent in two years in Tennessee, some police blame laws

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Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and atamburin@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.