Hennepin County Attorney’s Office expands youth group violence initiative
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is expanding a pilot program to intervene with youth at risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of violence.
The youth group violence initiative will focus on young people who have been in trouble but aren’t on probation. Law enforcement agencies in Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park will refer them to outreach workers, who provide support with services like employment assistance or even relocation.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said it isn’t enough that her office prosecutes youth violence after it occurs, but that authorities must also work to prevent violent acts in the first place.
“Our law enforcement partners know the young people living in and around the violence in their communities,” Moriarty said. “Now we have a pathway to intervene earlier and effectively to reduce violence and support the lives of young people in our communities.”
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The program is being launched in partnership with Hennepin County Safe Communities and with technical assistance from the National Network for Safe Communities. Moriarty said her office and the county are each providing $250,000 in funding for the expansion of the program.
Data shows that young people involved in gun violence are more likely to end up in the adult criminal justice system, said Sasha Cotton, a Twin Cities native and executive director of the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College in New York.
“We know that most violence is driven by a very small number of individuals,” Cotton said. “This strategy is designed to work with these very small numbers of people who are driving violence in our community and provide them with the resources, support and accountability to move away from the violence and put their lives on a different trajectory.”
Cotton said her organization will use data and established science to help guide the program, which expands on a county initiative that already serves young people on supervised probation. Previous studies of the group violence intervention at John Jay College have shown significant reductions in shootings in cities like Chicago and a drop in homicides in places like New Orleans.
Police officers in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center will refer outreach workers to young people at risk of becoming the victims or perpetrators of violence.
The group of violence prevention staff and outreach workers will determine whether the young person is eligible and design an early intervention plan, according to the county attorney’s office. A non-police group will offer voluntary support services to young people and their families.
The services they connect kids with include financial literacy, mental health support and one-on-one mentorship, said Muhammad Abdul-Ahad, executive director of T.O.U.C.H Outreach, which is one of three outreach groups that will work with the program.
“It’s just giving them that opportunity to be themselves and having a listening ear for a lot of these youth, because a lot of times they don’t really get somebody right there that they can open up to and listen to their needs,” Abdul-Ahad said. “It’s very important when that phone rings, to pick it up – some of these kids just need someone that can help guide them on the right path.”
The Minneapolis Police Department isn’t currently part of the pilot program, Moriarty said. A spokesperson for the department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.