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Authorities work to reduce youth crime

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — All eyes will be on reducing youth crime in Mecklenburg County this year.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Kerr Putney said the focus of 2018 is to break the cycle that leads to the criminal justice system.

Since 2001, the number of juveniles admitted to detention centers has fallen 65 percent, but the courts are still seeing offenders as young as 6 years old.

"The bad news is that there are a small number of kids that are involved in really serious criminal activity,” Judge Lou Trosch III.  “The good news, it's a very small number, and it's a problem that's going down."

Kids have faced judges for armed robberies and other serious offenses, but more frequently for break-ins.