Minn. juvenile arrests nearing 30-year lows

Minnesota's juvenile crime rate and arrests have dropped significantly, according to a report from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

"I knew that there was a decline, I could see that, but I was really surprised to see that, wow, we've really come full circle on our data with kids and our involvement with kids in the justice system," Dana Swayze, who analyzes crime data for the state agency, told MPR News. "That that trend line was so clear."

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The report, released Thursday, said juvenile arrests in 2011, the most recent year for which data was available, were about the same as in 1980. Property crimes were much less frequent, but the juvenile violent crime rate was slightly higher in the 2000s than it was in the '80s.

Juvenile crime peaked in Minnesota in the '90s. In 1998, the record year, there were nearly 134 arrests for every 1,000 Minnesota kids ages 10-17. The violent crime rate peaked in 1994 with four arrests per 1,000 youths, and the property crime rate peaked in 1992 with 33 arrests per 1,000 youths.