Juvenile Crime in Bexar County: Latest Guest, Judge William "Cruz" Shaw III
- Brenna Calhoun
- Dec 2, 2025
- 3 min read
In Bexar County, 2023 saw a peak in the total number of juvenile felony referrals since 2013. Uncoincidentally, 2023 also saw a sharp increase in the percentage of high school dropouts in the county from the previous year---from about 2.8% to 7.8% (calculated using data from the Kids Count Data Center and the Texas Education Agency).
These numbers make it abundantly clear that educational success has a direct relationship to juvenile crime, and the presence of one usually means the absence of the other. This year, the numbers for both crime and high school dropout cases are on a subtle decline, something Judge Shaw attested to briefly when we spoke with him during our latest interview.
However, also this year, Bexar County recorded a 1.4% increase to total violent juvenile felony referrals from August 2024 to August 2025, a number which was numerically offset by the sharp 15% decrease in non-violent juvenile felony referrals within the same time period. Essentially, overall juvenile crime has dropped, but violent crimes make up more of that number than should (Bexar County Juvenile Probation).
Both in our interview with him and prior, Judge Shaw has stated that, when dealing with juvenile offenders, he has "two jobs: keeping them alive and out of the adult system." He implements this on a daily basis in his courtroom and beyond, but to create lasting changes, efforts for reform cannot begin in the courtroom. They have to start much closer---with community, and particularly with education.
In fact, in an interview with KENS5, Shaw has previously said that when back-to-school season begins, reported juvenile criminal activity increases as well:
"You are having hundreds and hundreds of kids all in the same building; you start seeing fights, weapons at schools, things like that."
So how can we begin to combat increasing rates of violent juvenile criminality? It's numerically evident that more urban neighborhoods have higher rates of dropouts, truancy, lack of scholarly engagement, and also higher rates of juvenile crime. All of these numbers are disproportionately representative of non-white teens and young adults, particularly young black and Latino men.
Somewhere within our system, these at-risk, or "opportunity", youth are slipping through the cracks. By 2040, it's projected that Bexar County may finally reach a 0% attrition rate in public schools, but that's 15 years away, and it doesn't protect the students and youth we are failing today (Hensley). Public servants like Judge William "Cruz" Shaw III do the necessary work on the ground to safeguard our youth, but these effects can be amplified through community involvement and organizations like the UP Partnership and Southwest Key's Youth and Family Services.
These coalitions focus on education, reformation, and mentorship, and they target juvenile crime as early as possible. When we foster community---getting your children on the local club soccer team, having a weekly family game night, or simply monitoring your child's grades and school activity---we prepare them to take on vital leadership roles amongst their peers. It's important to remember that juvenile crime prevention starts in homes, neighborhoods, and schools. The more teens and young adults that are actively involved in their personal communities, the less there are engaging in delinquency.
Watch our latest episode with Judge William "Cruz" Shaw III of the 436th Juvenile District Court to tune into a more personal conversation on juvenile crime and the importance of protection and prevention.
Works cited:
Bexar County. Bexar County Juvenile Probation. 2025, www.bexar.org/DocumentCenter/View/12221/Monthly-Trend-Report-PDF?bidId=..
Referral Trends YTD Thru Aug, 2025 (2024 Comparison).
Hensley, Samantha. “Annual Attendance and Dropout Rates.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, Esri, 3 Oct. 2021, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bd20a752a2bc4914b8c9d6554d65b82e.
Ramos, Henry. “Bexar County Juvenile Judge Seeks Solutions as Murder, Burglary Referrals Grow over 2024.” Kens5.com, KENS, 24 June 2025, www.kens5.com/article/news/crime/san-antonio-bexar-county-texas-juvenile-referrals-court-probation-crime-trends-data-rates-judge-cruz-shaw/273-0f531afb-1261-45c1-80aa-64f0b4e9e036.
Torres, Raquel. “Juvenile Crime Is up in Bexar County. Community Leaders Are Fighting to Bring It Back Down.” San Antonio Report, 4 June 2023, sanantonioreport.org/bexar-county-juvenile-crime-solutions-after-school-mentorship-programs/.
Great Article! Children and teenagers are our future. We need more servants like Judge Shaw working to keep them alive and out of the criminal justice system.