HERMISTON, Ore. (AP) — Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston can’t put his finger on why juvenile crime has plunged in his city the past two years.
The East Oregonian newspaper reports (http://is.gd/NzzW5E ) minors were processed for 373 offenses last year. That’s down 31 percent from 2012 and it’s less than half the 821 offenses committed by minors in 2011.
Edmiston says the trend is at odds with the city’s overall crime rate, which increased by 3 percent in 2013.
The chief says the only big change he can see since 2011 is that teenagers have been attending school in new buildings, and that might have been a more positive influence than expected.
