The Loop: Crime hits home

What kids have to say about crime

by Jeff Horwich, Minnesota Public Radio

We visited with some students on the east side of St. Paul. to hear what they had to say about how crime affects them.

St. Paul, Minn. — The families in east St. Paul are a wide mix of incomes and backgrounds. Johnson Elementary is a beautifully remodeled old school, with cheery hallways and new playgrounds.

But the principal says there have been four gunshot incidents in recent weeks, including one at a home visible from the school's front door. The violence makes him worried about the very un-childlike thoughts and anxieties kids might bring to the classroom.

MPR's Jeff Horwich got a dozen fifth and sixth graders together to talk about how crime hits home for them.

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, 09/21/2006, 4:55 p.m.