Violent juvenile crime has grown in recent years in Hennepin County and other parts of the metro.

On Oct. 22, the Hennepin County Council approved $22 million in general fund and property tax money to combat the problem by renovating a building near 18th.^th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, which will help children who have committed crimes but are under the age of 14 and cannot be charged as adults under Minnesota state law.

Commissioner Jeffrey Lunde, who chairs the County Council’s Public Safety Committee, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that increasing trend of young juvenile offenders it is a “crisis” and immediate action is needed.

“You know the system was never built to have 10-year-olds in it. I mean, that was something you never saw,” Lunde said. “I think it’s a crisis.”

Lunde told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that juveniles under the age of 14, who cannot be charged as adults, would be eligible to receive specialized treatment at the renovated facility for issues ranging from mental health to addiction and trauma from a lifetime of troubled home.

“Behavioral health teams will do assessments and come up with a plan, and we usually try to work with families because we’ve known that families can be a key component in success, so yes, it’s tailored,” Lunde said.

Renovation should begin in the next month or two, and Lunde said the building and about 15 beds should be open and ready for use in early 2025.