Hennepin Co. program targeting youth auto theft, gun violence in spotlight after 4 kids shot in stolen car
MINNEAPOLIS — The Hennepin County Attorney's Office says it has a response to the crisis of kids, gun violence and stolen vehicles.
It's called the Youth Auto Theft Early Intervention Initiative. The program is a new pathway for referral and intervention when police do not have sufficient evidence to submit a case for charging.
However, after four kids were shot in a stolen car on the city's north side this weekend, the Minneapolis police chief says the county attorney's office didn't charge or divert kids involved in this shooting. They ended up back on the street.
The attorney's office says police tell them they know who the young people are who are involved, but don't have the evidence to prove it.
"We said let's pause. Let's see how we can come at this together collaboratively and that's really what the Youth Auto Theft Intervention initiative is about," said Director of Children and Family Division of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office Sarah Davis.
The program, which started in June 2023, was designed to respond quickly before the kids involved or the community gets hurt. It starts with law enforcement letting the county attorney's office know who these kids are.
"And we will send a social worker out to connect with that youth and that family to offer voluntary services and interventions," Davis said.
The response is highly individualized.
"It might be, I need help getting my child back into school or I need help accessing mental health resources, stable housing, food resources. It's so unique and special," Davis said.
Since the program began, there has been a significant decrease in the number of repeat offenders.
"What we found is that young people who were referred and had outreach through a social worker in the country, 81% of those people had no new charges," Davis said.
Comparing the first five months of 2023 before the program began to the same time in 2024 when the program existed, Davis said data showed less theft and young people facing serious charges.
"What we found was a 30% drop in auto thefts across the country and a 48% drop in youth auto theft referrals for charging to our office," she said.
Hennepin County also has other programs to connect families with services and support. Parents can call and someone will show up within an hour to help.
