Hennepin County Commissioner Jeffrey Lunde, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the county board had taken the lead on an initiative involving seven other counties to help juveniles stay away from a life of crime and out of the Juvenile Detention Center if they meet certain requirements.

RELATED: Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center turns away suspect, staffing shortages being addressed

Under the initiative, if a juvenile is arrested or is found incompetent to be tried criminally, they would be assigned to one of the individual counties to get help for their specific needs.

“Anoka County has one that maybe specializes in addiction. Then, you might have Hennepin that might have a place for a kid who had sexual abuse,” said Lunde.

Lunde said this regional consortium is needed because the growing problem of juvenile crime is not unique to Hennepin County.