MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty shared her vision for a safer Twin Cities, announcing a new initiative meant to curb youth violence on Wednesday.
Moriarty spoke to reporters at a press conference Wednesday morning, saying its pilot program will focus on "effectively" reducing violence perpetrated by minors, in addition to lending the community more support through what it calls "group violence intervention."
"Those at the highest risk of perpetrating gun violence are often the same as those at the highest risk of becoming a shooting victim," Moriarty said. "Focused, deterrent strategies, like YGVI, youth group violence intervention, are effective because they address the actions of these small groups that are most responsible for driving serious violence, through partnerships between community, social service providers and law enforcement acting together."
YGVI support and outreach providers, who are "credible members of the community," will serve as an ongoing community-based resource for young people who engage with its services, according to a statement from the attorney's office.
Moriarty said the pilot comes as an extension of an initiative already developed by the city of Minneapolis and Hennepin County Juvenile Probation, that focused on young people already on supervised probation. The expansion, Moriarty said, was created to allow for earlier intervention, while addressing the needs of young people who are not already on probation.
"Group violence intervention is an internationally recognized model to reduce gun violence and address the intervention needs of youth and their families," Moriarty said. "GVI has a proven track record of reducing incidents of gun violence."
Participating police departments will refer juveniles they think would make good candidates for the program to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office who will then line the families up with outreach services if the family consents.
"Ultimately, it has to be a choice. If we don't make it an option, if it's court-ordered, then we're talking about entering kids into the legal system," said Sasha Cotton, executive director of the National Network for Safe Communities.
Those who agree to take part will work with one of three groups that includes T.O.U.C.H. Outreach, which will provide one-on-one mentoring and more.
"Financial literacy, one-on-one mental health awareness -- things of that nature, and also get them involved in community," said Muhammad Abdul-Ahad, executive director of T.O.U.C.H. Outreach. "I just think giving them that opportunity to be themselves -- having a listening ear for a lot of these youth because a lot of times they don't have someone right there they can open up to."
Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center Police are the first law enforcement agencies to participate. The term "group violence" encompasses more than just gangs -- but also cliques and other groups of friends that Moriarty says are committing the majority of violent crimes.
There was some confusion whether Minneapolis police would participate in this initiative.
Wednesday afternoon, an MPD spokesperson sent a statement saying they were double-booked and that's why they couldn't be at the announcement. "Nonetheless, the MPD deems these efforts extremely valuable and will continue to be a willing partner."
Moriarty said the plan will create a pathway for intervention from law enforcement referrals of those young people.
"Our law enforcement partners know the young people living in and around this violence in their communities, she said. "Now, we have a pathway to intervene earlier and effectively to reduce violence and support the lives of young people in our communities."
Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Lunde was among the group of officials who spoke Wednesday. He echoed Moriarty's sentiment, saying he believes the new program has the potential to be a "big step" toward tackling youth violence.
"I think we looked at last summer — there was a lot of complaining, a lot of finger-pointing in the challenges in front of us — and I think this summer, you're seeing the fruits of hard work over the winter to really prepare a joint response so that we're all working together, collaborating, trying to really tackle these challenges that are before us," Lunde said.
Adding, "I think our goals are all the same, which is what we can do to lower violence in our communities and make people feel safe at the end of the day."
Data from past GVI models include a 23% reduction in overall shooting behavior among groups targeted in Chicago; a 36% reduction in group-related shootings among groups targeted in Boston; and a 32% reduction in group-member involved homicides in New Orleans, among others.
For more information about the county's new youth violence prevention initiative, visit HCAO's website.
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