Hennepin County attorney announces new steps to take on youth crime

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Crime rates among children and teenagers are a troubling topic that Hennepin County officials are hoping to address with a new plan. The new plan includes a collaboration between law enforcement authorities, focused on stemming auto thefts.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says the new plan will strengthen the detention and prosecution of juveniles arrested for auto theft. It also includes more intervention in cases where teens are suspected of a crime but there's not enough evidence to prosecute the case.

Wednesday, Moriarty said she has had multiple meetings with Hennepin County police chiefs to devise a plan. This plan, which has been weeks in the making, addresses the issue of young teenagers stealing cars, often fleeing from police with dangerous consequences, or simply being released to steal again. A major hurdle shared by the police with the county attorney is the complexities of provable evidence.

"Very often it’s hard for law enforcement to bring us a case that can be charged because it can be very hard to prove that the youth took the car or prove any kind of criminal case against other kids in the car," Mary Moriarty elaborates.

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The two-fold plan includes intervention and stronger detention. Intervention involves police departments sharing names of kids believed to be involved in these crimes, even if they can't be proven, and connecting them with a social worker to "figure out what kind of intervention that youth and family need," as Moriarty puts it.

Stronger detention and prosecution specifically target juveniles suspected of auto theft.

"Our office will now make charging decisions in auto theft-related cases much more quickly," states Moriarty.

Juveniles detained but later released will now see a charging decision made within one day. If a juvenile is arrested but not detained due to weaker evidence, the decision to charge will be made within five days. Any juvenile arrested for fleeing police can no longer be released from custody; instead, holding them will be automatic until they see a judge.

"A judge must make a decision on detention on a fleeing case… so that is a change," asserts Mary Moriarty.

However, this new approach has received mixed reactions from community groups. Many non-profit organizations argue for greater investment in programs that engage children and teenagers, providing them with constructive activities. They claim that many existing programs don't work and that keeping more teens in juvenile detention is the wrong approach.

"We have to look at what our young people need, and we have to start investing in our young people," said Black Lives Matter Twin Cities representative Chauntyll Allen. "They truly are our future and incarcerating them, we’ve already seen that that system doesn’t work. That’s the brokenness we’re dealing with right now."

The groups also called for a statewide ban on police pursuits, considering them an unnecessary risk to both the public and those being pursued.