Juvenile violent crime up in 2020; Hennepin County Attorney says trend can be reversed

Overall, juvenile crime is down in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, but violent crimes committed by youths were on the rise in 2020. It’s a trend that prosecutors say is connected, to a certain degree, to the COVID-19 pandemic …

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman told KSTP violent crimes committed by juveniles are up 10% from the previous year. He said recent carjackings are the main reason for the increase.

“Clearly, carjackings have played a big role in why those numbers are higher this year than last year,” Freeman said. “Our first priority in the juvenile justice system is to figure out what is best for the youngster and work with them to make sure they don’t enter into a lifetime of crime.”

MPD, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office make more than 40 arrests in connection to carjackings

Freeman said nonviolent crimes committed by juveniles are treated much differently than similar crimes committed against people and there is still a small percentage of juveniles who commit violent crimes.

“If someone commits a violent crime against a person, we take that very seriously and there are detention centers across Minnesota for that,” he said. “But when a kid is not hurting others physically, we work with them and their families, and that can include home detention, community service and restitution because we should have patience with kids who still can turn things around.”

Records from the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office show violent crime among juveniles is up 64% in 2020 compared to this time a year ago.