XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, mn.politics, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.politics.democrats   
   From: democrats@vote.stupid   
      
   There’s a young girl from Minneapolis who remains in critical condition   
   Tuesday after being shot over the weekend along with three other children. The   
   minors in question are between the ages of 11 and 13 and were shot while   
   joyriding in a stolen car.   
      
   The case renews the question about what to do when kids that young are   
   committing serious crimes.   
      
   The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office wants police to refer cases to their   
   office, and says that when there isn’t enough evidence to charge, the child   
   could instead be referred to their Youth Auto Theft Early Intervention   
   Initiative. But Minneapolis    
   Police Chief Brian O’Hara says he wants to see those kids arrested and   
   charged.   
      
   The specifics of this case are unclear, due to privacy laws for children in   
   the juvenile system. But it has renewed an argument between agencies about the   
   best approach to stopping kids from committing serious crimes.   
      
   To explain, two people from the organization Restorative Justice Community   
   Action, which provides services to youth who have committed crimes in Hennepin   
   and Ramsey counties, joined Minnesota Now.   
      
   Cynthia Prosek is their executive director and Kara Beckman is University of   
   Minnesota Researcher who works with the organization.   
      
   We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business   
   day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.   
      
   Audio transcript   
   CATHY WURZER: There's a young girl from Minneapolis who remains in critical   
   condition today after being shot over the weekend, along with three other   
   children. The kids in question are between the ages of 11 and 13 and were shot   
   while joy riding in a    
   stolen car.   
      
   The case renews the question about what to do when kids that young are   
   committing serious crimes. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office wants police   
   to refer cases to their office and says that when there's not enough evidence   
   to charge, the child could    
   instead be referred to their youth auto theft early intervention initiative.   
   But Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara says he wants to see those kids   
   arrested and charged.   
      
   BRIAN O'HARA: The idea of catch and release with violent juveniles is not   
   working. It's not fair to the kids involved or to the victims of serious   
   crime. The time they spent detained would enable the system to identify   
   resources to provide them to these    
   kids instead of immediately releasing them right after they're arrested to go   
   back into the same environment that produced this same result.   
      
   CATHY WURZER: Now, the specifics of this case are not clear because of privacy   
   laws for children in the juvenile system. But it has renewed an argument   
   between agencies about the best approach to stopping kids from committing   
   serious crimes. We wanted to    
   learn more about what's happening on the ground.   
      
   So joining us right now are two people from the organization Restorative   
   Justice Community Action, which provides services to youth who have committed   
   crimes in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. Cynthia Prosek is their executive   
   director and Kara Beckman is    
   a University of Minnesota researcher who works with the organization. Kara and   
   Cynthia, thank you for taking the time.   
      
   CYNTHIA PROSEK: Thank you for the invitation.   
      
   CATHY WURZER: Can you help us out here? I was going through state law 2017.   
   Kara, excuse me, Kara. I was going through state law in 2017 that said that   
   kids under the age of 14 who commit serious crimes can't be charged. Is that   
   right?   
      
   KARA BECKMAN: That's not correct. It actually is that they can't be charged as   
   an adult. They can be charged. They cannot be charged as an adult. So they   
   cannot be sent into the adult system for processing.   
      
   CATHY WURZER: OK. Would you like to make a comment about that, Cynthia?   
      
   CYNTHIA PROSEK: Yeah, I was just letting Kara answer that. Yeah, it's a very   
   complicated system. There's also a movement where there's a new law coming   
   into place where youth under 14 will not be charged. But that's not in effect   
   now and hasn't been in    
   effect. So youth have been able to be charged for a long time. From the age of   
   10 up.   
      
   CATHY WURZER: OK. Is your organization seeing younger and younger kids   
   committing more violent crimes? What's the ground level situation out there?   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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