From staff reports

Is crime running rampant on our streets? Are juveniles out of control? Is the quiet life in Freeborn County rapidly disappearing?&t;!—-&t;.

Sunday, September 19, 1999

Is crime running rampant on our streets? Are juveniles out of control? Is the quiet life in Freeborn County rapidly disappearing?

The answers may vary, depending on who is asked.

According to the 1999 Minnesota Report Card’s numbers on juvenile apprehensions, the answer would appear to be &uot;yes&uot; to all the above questions.

But, what do the numbers really tell us?

It’s hard to say. Maybe juvenile crime in Freeborn County is higher than in other areas, but maybe our police officers and deputies are just more efficient.

Maybe youths in other counties have it easy and are never punished for their crimes. Maybe those are the counties where juvenile crime is actually running rampant.

As Assistant County Attorney Erin O’Brien said, it’s more important to look around our neighborhood and in our streets to assess the level of juvenile crime.

Are young people rioting in the streets? No.

Are they getting in trouble? Yes, some are.

But, the circumstances can’t be as dreary as the numbers seem to indicate.

After all, the same report says our county is graduating more high schoolers that most and our teens are volunteering in the community more than their peers in other counties.

The news isn’t all bad.

While the numbers are important to help assess what is happening in our community, they are only a part of the whole picture. We also need to look at what is actually happening.

Some of our young people are getting into trouble, but others are helping out.

The goal should be to guide those in the first category to the second.

The youth of Freeborn County, after all, are our future.