New Approach to Youth Carjacking Is Having an Impact

 

 

 

Six children — ages 11 to 15 — were arrested earlier this month for a violent carjacking in northeast Minneapolis. At 4:30pm, a 62-year-old woman was tackled to the ground by the youth after she left her car. They stole her car keys and left in her vehicle. Thanks to a tip from parents of some of the youth — five boys and one girl — the police located them in the car a few hours later and pursued by air and ground. Eventually the kids hid in a garage until the police were able to call them out and take them into custody under the guidance of the Minneapolis Police Department’s new Curfew Task Force. The Minnesota State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff’s office assisted in tracking the case.

“This was great collaborative work that interrupted the recurring criminal behavior of a group of juveniles,” said MPD Chief Brian O’Hara. “I am thankful for recent investments in facilities designed to address youth behavior issues. However, the gap that allows juveniles to cycle in and out of the system remains. We need increased urgency among all leaders in our community and in government to address this issue. The current system is failing, putting our youth, their victims, and even our officers at risk.”

The MPD Curfew Task Force was started in September 2024 to focus on issues involving youth during early morning hours on weekends, after two incidents in which teens were injured or killed. The team interacts with youth before and after curfew and conducts home visits for children known to be involved in repeated criminal activity to provide support and connect them with resources. The MPD reported that these relationships led to information from parents that aided in the recent arrest.

Youth auto theft has been on the rise nationwide since a 2021 social media video went viral explaining how to quickly steal a Kia or Hyundai. Police often have an idea of who committed the theft but do not have sufficient evidence to submit a criminal case. Passengers in a stolen car have often not been addressed by the legal system.

 

Pilot Program Intervenes With Carjacking Youth

At a November event about transformative justice hosted by Minnesota Justice Research Center, Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty and colleague Josh Peterson reported on data from the initiative to intervene with youth involved in carjacking cases, which are hard to prove for a chargeable case. According to Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) data, in 2023 about 3.9 percent of auto thefts in the state led to an arrest because there generally is not much evidence at the scene.

Law enforcement knows that auto theft is often part of an escalating pattern for youth; 70 percent of youth thought to be involved in a carjacking, but not able to be charged, are likely to be involved in another case within a year.

The question the attorney’s office has sought to address with partners, Moriarty said, is about how to intervene earlier, even without being able to make an arrest, so that youth don’t end up deeper into the legal system.

Police often know the youth who are repeatedly thought to be involved in cases, as do some parents and other community members. The county attorney’s office and law enforcement met as a large group monthly, and in smaller groups weekly, to talk about concerns with individuals in the community. Together they developed a new approach to share information about cases that could not be charged but could at least lead to diversion services. Resources are then provided to directly intervene with the individual’s needs.

“You have to look at the young person to see what their circumstances are, see what their strengths are, what their challenges are,” said Moriarty. “It should be connected to the family’s community, because then the young person can build those relationships — resources and treatment can happen in the community. Young people are much more accountable to relationships.

“Our goal was not to criminalize young people,” she continued. “It was not to come up with new cases. It was to create a voluntary pathway for early intervention.”

The pilot program involved only youth who were not already on active probation or involved in an active court case. From June 2023 to September 2024, 47 percent of the 270 youth referred to the program were eligible, leading to 126 who could receive services. Social workers from 12 law enforcement agencies across the county attempted to make contact with these youth and their caregivers.

People as young as seven years old were referred to the program. The average age was nearly 15.

“The key has been coordination and collaboration,” Moriarty said. “Our partners within behavioral health have been key as core service providers.”

The Data

Peterson indicated that his background is in public health, not law. “One of the things we do in the public health world is understand the problem, pilot solutions, and gather data. Our general theory is that there are young people with families who could use services. What they need is someone to ask them what they need and how we can help fill those gaps.”

The county’s Family Response Stabilization Services program offers 24/7 help for families who need mental health resources, case management, public assistance, transportation options, school reengagement, and parental support. “Again, this is all about understanding what young people and families need to help them get on the positive direction. The intent was having a social worker make contact, identify needs, and provide a range of options,” Peterson said.

Early results of the pilot program have been successful. Of the 127 people referred for social work services through September 2024, 85 of them were not involved in new cases — 67 percent.

Additionally, from January to September 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, there was an 18 percent drop in reported auto-related cases and a 35 percent drop in cases submitted to the attorney’s office from law enforcement. “We can’t say that this initiative is the sole cause for these drops,” Peterson said, “but we think that this initiative has some connection to those numbers.”

Moriarty added, “Josh and I agree that we want to be doing initiatives that work, which is why data is important. It’s not the only thing, but it is important. We don’t want to be doing things just to do things. These numbers are important.”

Additionally, she said, “We’ve heard from the families who have been asking for help that this is useful. Many of the law enforcement partners we’ve talked with have said the same thing. They don’t want to see the same young people over and over engaging in these behaviors. They don’t necessarily have the resources to do it, so our office is helping to connect young people and law enforcement with those resources.”

The attorney’s office is able to serve as a hub because of its access not only to law enforcement but to child protection and the court system; it is able to fill in the gap that previously existed when youth were not officially charged with a crime in order to connect them with community resources.

 

 

The ultimate goal is to divert the youth before their behavior escalates, which can happen quickly, sometimes involving a weapon. “Without early intervention, we are risking young people escalating their behavior, becoming involved in something that’s really tragic,” said Moriarty.

It can take time to build trusting relationships with the youth and families. But the history of youth in the system tends to be consistent, she added: “They weren’t in school, they experienced lots of trauma in their lives, and there was never an effective intervention.”

 

Find the full discussion here