That's the wild West. Earlier this year, Freeman backed one North Minneapolis resident's call for 30-year prison sentences to anyone who sells a gun to a child, even if it's a first offense. Freeman says if the state is going to curb growing gang violence, then early intervention is necessary - especially for delinquents under the age of 10. He says more must be done to strengthen the child protection system. Freeman says another focus of his is preventing juvenile crime by cracking down on school delinquents.
Truancy is clearly the first sign in criminal activity.
Ninety-eight percent of the juveniles at Red Wing have a history of truancy before they committed their crimes. Keep young people in school and give them the opportunity to move forward. Critics of Freeman point to two homicides, one in 1994 and one this pring in Minneapolis, as evidence of a flawed filing system in the Hennepin County Attorney's office. He violated his probation by being arrested for disorderly conduct and faced probation revocation. The hearing was postponed because paperwork was missing from his file, and it during that time he was charged in a second killing.