Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty briefs Edina council on diversion, youth auto‑theft initiative and red‑flag orders

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty updated the Edina City Council on county prosecutor initiatives on July 15, describing expanded diversion use, a youth auto‑theft outreach program and broader steps to reduce gun violence and recidivism. Moriarty told the council that the county attorney’s office now meets regularly with police chiefs and maintains a senior prosecutor as a liaison to improve communication and case outcomes. “When law enforcement clears a case and submits it to us, that is when we typically enter into the process,” she said, describing how the office screens cases for charging, diversion or declination. Moriarty outlined diversion outcomes her office tracks and provided county‑level recidivism data: for youth, she said, those diverted returned to court at lower rates than youth who were not diverted; for adults, she said those who completed diversion returned at far lower rates (4 percent) than those who were unsuccessful (20 percent). She described a youth auto‑theft initiative that proactively identified young people from police intelligence and offered voluntary services rather than waiting for prosecutable cases. “Those young people who were referred to our social worker — 67 percent — had no new case charges between referral and our later review,” Moriarty told the council, summarizing first‑year results from the outreach program. She said juvenile motor‑vehicle‑theft submissions from law enforcement were down roughly 30 percent year‑to‑date through July 8, 2025, versus 2024 and down 49 percent compared with 2023. Moriarty also discussed extreme risk protection orders (Minnesota’s “red flag” law) and said the county attorney’s office has added training and an outreach advocate to help families and law‑enforcement partners use the tool when an individual is at risk of harming themselves or others. The council thanked Moriarty for circulation of a public link to data dashboards and for offering community education resources; members asked staff to post the presentation on the city website.