By Cam Gordon
On June 14, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced a new initiative to address the surge in young people who are stealing cars.
Youth auto-theft has been on the rise in Minneapolis and throughout Hennepin County since 2020, and this year has been especially significant. According to city records, in the first half of 2019, there were 1,281 cars reported stolen in Minneapolis. At the same date in 2020, the number was 1,818; in 2021, it was 1,858; in 2022, it rose to 2,295; and this year, so far, it has reached 4,260.
Auto thefts have been a particularly serious problem in southwest Minneapolis this year. The top three neighborhoods with the most stolen cars are all in southwest. Whittier had the most at 335, followed by Lowry Hill at 144, and Lyndale at 140.
“Many of the youth that are involved are 10, 11, 12, 13,” said Moriarty, “and many of them are at the beginning of engaging in the kind of behavior that can be dangerous and has, for some, been deadly.”
At the same time, it has been challenging for police and prosecutors to file charges. Often, several people are in the car. They may flee the scene – and proving who was driving and who stole the car isn’t easy. “It’s hard for law enforcement to bring us a case that can be charged,” said Moriarity. “It can be very hard to prove a youth took the car or prove any kind of criminal case against the other kids in the car.”
Even without an arrest, however, Moriarty believes there is a role her office can play.
“We cannot ignore early warning signs that a child is headed down the wrong path,” Moriarty said. “Youth stealing cars and driving dangerously puts lives at risk and is unacceptable. But what we adults have been doing is not enough. This initiative gets the system and community working together to help kids and families who are at risk, and to intervene early before a kid hurts themselves or someone else.”
The centerpiece of the initiative is a multi-jurisdictional partnership that will allow different entities, such as law enforcement agencies and child protection services, to share information about youth considered to be “at risk.” Then they, and their families, can be offered services and resources.
The initiative is a result of discussions between the county attorney’s office, law enforcement, county court system, impacted families, and other Hennepin County offices following a series of meetings to discuss auto theft and related issues.
Following those meetings, this new initiative was developed to intervene earlier to get help to families to prevent future crimes, instead of waiting for court-ordered intervention that typically only come at the end of a charged case.
Calling it “a first of its kind collaboration in the county,” Moriarity explained that the effort will include regular youth-specific intervention meetings with the county attorney’s office and local law enforcement agencies. At the meetings, youth in need of intervention will be identified and information will be shared about them with staff from the county attorney’s office youth prosecution, child protection, and the “Be@School” truancy teams.
A social worker from the county will contact the family to make an assessment, discuss the concerning behavior that has come to the attention of law enforcement, and offer to connect the youth and family to voluntary existing supports and resources. This focus will be on offering voluntary services and not bringing youth into the legal system. If those issues are not addressed, youth remain at risk of escalating behavior that could lead to legal system consequences in the future.
“We don’t want youth to have records,” said Moriarty. “So, what we want to do is intervene effectively and early on in the hopes that we can get the youth and their families services that they need.”
Moriarty also announced that she will be making charging decisions more quickly. If a youth who was admitted to the juvenile detention center on an auto-theft related arrest is released, a charging decision will be made in a day with a court date set within three days.
If a youth is arrested on an auto-theft related incident, but never admitted to the juvenile detention center, a charging decision will be made within five business days. In the past charging decisions and a first court appearance have taken weeks or months.
In June, courts began requiring a judicial review on detention decisions for youth charged with fleeing police in a motor vehicle. This means that any youth arrested for fleeing in a motor vehicle will be held in detention until a judge can review the case.
While the city has yet to see how effective this collaboration will be, people are hopeful.
“There are families we know who are desperate for help but don’t know where to turn,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “This new initiative and collaboration will help us get kids and families connected to supportive resources that are out there before it’s too late.”
Rogers Police Chief Dan Wills said, “By working together in this focused and innovative approach, we hope to be part of the solution in reducing this behavior, and helping kids and families live healthy and safe lives.”
Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board Director Ann DeGroot said, “Our afterschool partners are talking about it and are looking for ways to help. As you can imagine, there is a great deal of concern about what to do especially since some of the youth attend afterschool programming.”
“We want to make sure youth are not falling through the cracks,” said Moriarity. “We want to make sure they get the resources they need.”
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