Boone County Commission to vote on grant to reduce youth crime

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Commission will vote Thursday on whether to approve a Youth Success Initiative grant for the Robert L. Perry Juvenile Justice Center.

The grant would provide $425,000 to the justice center to create intervention services and programs, inclusive processes to access the programs and a comprehensive support system for youth and their families. The federal government awarded the funds to Boone County in September.

These services are intended to provide "a strong foundation for preventing youth from entering the juvenile justice system, diverting them from moving deeper into the system and ultimately providing them with skills they need to lead a productive, safe, healthy and law-abiding lives," the grant states.

Boone County has already seen 66 acts of youth gun violence in 2024, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. For 2023 that number was 51. MSHP defines gun-related crimes as criminal acts including firearms (standard or automatic), handguns (standard or automatic), rifles (standard or automatic), shotguns (standard or automatic) and other guns.

Boone County has also seen 104 violent crimes by its youth during 2024, according to MSHP. In 2023, Boone County only experienced 95 acts of youth violent crime. MSHP defines violent crime as murder, robbery, aggravated assault and rape.

The Boone County Commission will meet at 3 p.m.