31-07-2025
New youth tech program in Camden County helping drive crime rates lower, officials say
Camden County leaders credit a new technology training program tailored to young people who are considered "at-risk" for helping to drive down crime in Camden to record lows.
County leaders partnered with Hopeworks, a local nonprofit, to steer young people away from crime and train them for in-demand, technology-related jobs.
James Horn, a program participant, said Hopeworks helped him on the road to stability after he spent time inside Camden County's Juvenile Detention Center.
"You see your mom's face light up now, like, you're not getting a phone call, 'Oh yeah, press '9'. I'm not locked up no more,'" Horn said, referring to the automated call family members would receive when a loved one is locked up at the detention center. "You're getting a phone call, 'Oh yeah, your son is doing good!'"
Camden County Police Capt. Vivian Coley previously only knew Horn from seeing his name in police reports.
She credited programs like the ones offered at Hopeworks for contributing to the steady drop in crime in Camden over the last decade.
"It gives us hope that we can turn this city completely around," Capt. Coley said.
In the last two years, Horn received his high school diploma, a steady income and his driver's license.
"I don't look at Hopeworks as just a job or a career building," Horn said. "I look at them as a family, for real, like they help me with everything in life."
For more information on the partnership between Camden County and Hopeworks, visit the county's website.
