Minneapolis police see 66% drop in new youth violent offenders since launching Curfew Task Force
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police say they've been searching for answers to deal with brazen crimes and a new approach is yielding results.
Last August, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara launched the Curfew Task Force.
Since the task force launch, Minneapolis police saw a 66% drop in new youth violent offenders, including auto thefts.
"This has been very successful at building trust in the community in an effort to try to save these kids from themselves," O'Hara said.
O'Hara says his investigators are connecting with parents of kids with criminal records, and those relationships are leading to crime prevention.
"They actually visit the homes of the most at-risk youth, these are kids who are involved in very serious crimes, repeatedly," he said.
O'Hara says it was the parents who helped them arrest six kids accused in a northeast Minneapolis carjacking on Friday.
"It has been parents and community members that have been giving us information necessary to try and stop them," O'Hara said.
On Tuesday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said an 11-, 13- and 15-year-old were charged in connection to the carjacking. No other information about the charges was immediately available.
The task force also refers kids to community groups to help turn their lives around.
O'Hara said the task force only exists thanks to critical staffing funding approved by the city council. That funding was recently extended for another year.
