Results Minneapolis Minneapolis City Attorney s Office June 2017
Criminal Division Results 2
Domestic Violence Goal: Deter Domestic Violence through the Minneapolis Model The Minneapolis Model for a Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence is a coordinated effort between the City Attorney s Office, Police Department and Community-based advocacy partners to reduce domestic violence in the City. Objective: Maintain a conviction rate at or near 70% Conviction Rates in Domestic Cases 80% 70% 60% 50% 48% 58% 54% 61% 66% 72% 70% 72% 64% 69% 68% 68% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 50% Increase in Conviction Rate from 2005-2010 3
Domestic Violence Objective: Improve Response in Gone-on-Arrival (GOA) Cases Increase the charging rates in Gone-on-Arrival Cases prosecuted Reduce amount of time between the date of an offense, case charging and case resolution Gone-on-Arrival cases have historically had a low rate of cases charged because of lack of investigative resources. Timely charging and case resolution in GOA cases is important for victim safety and to deter future offenses. With a recent federal Violence Against Women Act grant, the MCAO has succeeded in not only increasing the number of cases charged, but reduced the amount of time between the offense, case charging and case resolution. Following the completion of the grant cycle, the MCAO and MPD have agreed to maintain the same level of GOA investigation and prosecution. 120 Number of GOA Cases Charged Felony, Gross Misdemeanor, and Misdemeanor 109 110 101 100 80 400% Increase in Number of GOA Cases Charged 24 45 45 60 38 33 19 40 20 0 25 47 9 32 5 38 11 2013 2014 2015 2016 Misdemeanor Gross Misdemeanor Felony 4
Domestic Violence 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 Reductions in Time from Offense to Case Filing & Case Resolution 178.56 124.5 72.88 134.5 101.77 113.3 114.2 84.7 36% reduction in case processing time 90.4 60 40 20 39.82 37.14 31.87 0 2013 2014 2015 2016 Time from Case Review to Case Filing in Court Time from Case Review to Case Resolution Time from Charging to Case Resolution 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% Overall Conviction Rate for DASC Cases & Conviction Rate for Top Charge 81% 84.60% 77.60% 65.40% 85.90% 79% 81% 73.40% 2013 2014 2015 2016 Overall DASC Conviction Rate Conviction Rate for Top Charge 5
Domestic Violence Objective: Continue Violent Crime Hot Spots Domestic Violence Intervention Program In April 2015, the MCAO launched a pilot program in violent crime hot spots in North Minneapolis where the number one call for service was coded as domestic violence related. The overall goal is to assist families living in violent crime hot spots, to better understand the reasons for the calls and needs of the families and to develop strategies to address those needs as part of an overall violence reduction strategy in violent crime hot spots. In 2016, this pilot was expanded to include hot spots in South Minneapolis. The domestic violence intervention program involves a follow-up home visit by specially trained Minneapolis police officers and a domestic abuse family therapist to offer support and services to families in cases where the 911 call did not result in a police report being made. The goals of the pilot project are to: 1. Improve relationships between family violence victims and police officers in violent crime hot spots to build trust and improve safety of those living in hot spot areas. 2. Increase awareness of available services for victims and family member. 3. Utilize victim/family input to better understand needs and to improve the system s response to domestic violence. Based on positive feedback, the project is continuing in 2017. 2015-2016 Results 1141 Home visits Made 881 Separate Address visited and over 574 persons spoken with at home visits 66.78% success rate in making successful contact at home visits Increased awareness of over 104 persons with how to locate resources to better address issues occurring in their homes Over 61.5% of persons at homes accepted a resource handout during the home visit Successful Contact made at Home Visit 33% Persons at Home Talked with Team 67% Persons didn't talk with team 6
Domestic Violence Addresses Visited during Home Visits 22% 1 Report 2 or More Reports 78% Prior Police Reports Filed at the Address Visited by Team in Prior 3 Years 18% 82% Yes No 82% of addresses involved in the 911 calls analyzed had at least 1 prior police report filed within the last 3 years. Majority of the reports were related to domestic violence issues or runaway children 29% of addresses involved in the 911 calls analyzed had someone on probation at that address. Information Learned Many of the families visited had little or no knowledge of available services. The proactive approach of having a family therapist making a personal introduction and connection was viewed as extremely helpful instead of a more passive approach of simply providing a list of resources. We are partnering with Hennepin County Human Services leadership and North Point to develop a proactive warm hand-off from the connection made with the family therapist to County service providers. 7
Reduce Chronic Offender Recidivism Goal: Achieve Longer Term Reductions in Recidivism by Chronic Low Level Offenders The MCAO has developed three programs focusing on reducing recidivism among repeat lower level chronic offenders: the Downtown 100, Focus: 18-24 and the original Citywide Top 200. Each program has a dedicated probation officer and problem solving team including public, non-profit and community partners. These programs utilize a holistic approach, seeking longer term results by addressing the underlying needs of the offenders. The programs utilize a combination of active probation supervision, social services referrals and problem solving courts, as the preferred consequence instead of seeking workhouse time. Through the team approach first developed with the Downtown 100 and now expanded to our Citywide Top 200, we have achieved dramatic and sustained reductions in recidivism. These results not only reduce offenses and demands on police resources, but lead to an improved quality of life and safety for the offenders in the programs as well as improve the quality of life in affected neighborhoods. The MCAO has developed a pilot program in the 3 rd precinct called the Phillips 50 to better address the livability issues facing the neighborhoods and businesses in this area. This program is modeled after the Downtown 100, with a dedicated prosecutor and probation officer to handle these cases and social service program referrals for defendants to address the underlying issues behind their criminal activity. The MCAO has also been working with the Hennepin County District Court, the Hennepin County Public Defender s Office and the Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department to develop a dedicated community court. This court would operate under the principle of using case managers to assist with social service referrals and ordering communitybased community service to hold these offenders accountable while reducing their recidivism. Defendants participating in this court, with the help from an assigned case manager, would be directed to social services to address many of the underlying issues causing the criminal behavior, such as homelessness, unemployment, chemical dependency and mental health issues. Under this model the MCAO would resolve cases in a more favorable way if the defendant is actively participating in social services. 8
Reduce Chronic Offender Recidivism Downtown 100 and Focus: 18-24 The Downtown 100 program was implemented in 2010, with the Focus: 18-24 component added in 2014. The program utilizes an innovative team approach in responding to chronic lower level criminal offenders, including a dedicated prosecutor and two probation officers, funding from and participation of the Downtown Improvement District (DID) and public and non-profit service providers, law enforcement, business and neighborhood representatives. Youth serving providers, such as The Link and YouthLink were also brought into the partnership. The program addresses mental health and chemical dependency issues and also provides housing, job training, educational opportunities and counseling. By focusing on the underlying needs of the offenders, the program has achieved dramatic improvements in recidivism rates on a longer term basis. 800 700 600 500 400 493 DT100 Participants: Reduction in Recidivism Comparing year before and year in program 63% 63% 545 59% 473 757 65% 680 65% 67% 550 552 64% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 300 200 184 202 192 263 239 181 197 30% 20% 100 10% 0 2010 DT100 2011 DT100 2012 DT100 2013 DT100 2014 DT100 2015 DT100 2016 DT100 Baseline Cases Number of offenses per year Reduction in Recidivism 0% 9
Reduce Chronic Offender Recidivism 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 178 64% 66% 64 Focus 18-24: Reduction in Recidivism Number of Offenses per Year 148 50 101 56% 44 134 76% 2013 2014 2015 2016 Baseline Cases Program Year Reduction in Recidivism 32 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Number of "Downtown 100" & Focus 18-24 Chronic Offenders Referred to Social Services & on Active Probation 100 93 90 80 78 77 70 60 50 40 43 48 40 44 60 49 30 20 10 0 18 April-December 2010 26 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Number of DT100 Chronic Offenders Referred to Social Services Number on Active Probation to PO Note: Active Probation numbers were not tracked prior to 2013 Each cohort is only in the program for one year, but reductions in recidivism are not only maintained in subsequent years, but continue to improve, providing the longer term impact of the Downtown 100 approach. 10
Reduce Chronic Offender Recidivism 800 Downtown 100: Long Term Reductions in Recidivism Number of Offenses Per Year 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2010 DT100 Cohort 2011 DT100 Cohort 2012 DT100 Cohort 2013 DT100 Cohort 2014 DT100 Cohort 2015 DT100 Cohort 2016 DT100 Cohort 2009 and 2010 numbers only indicate April 1 December 31 of that year 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 50 participants 2014 75 participants 2015 77 participants 2016 87 participants 11
Reduce Chronic Offender Recidivism Citywide Top 200 Beginning in 2013, a dedicated probation officer was added to the Citywide Top 200 program to improve reductions in recidivism. The City funded a majority of the cost of the probation officer with the County funding the balance. The MCAO continued to hold regular staffing meetings with probation and our partners at the Hennepin County Attorney s Office to better identify offender needs and to discuss issues and problems occurring in the neighborhoods. With these two components dedicated probation officer and team information sharing/ strategy meetings we have been able to reduce recidivism among our Citywide Top 200 offenders. Citywide Top 200 Reductions in Recidivism 50% 47% 47% 48% 45% 42% 40% 35% 37% 35% 30% 29% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Percent Reduction Another benefit of the program is a reduction in the number of police contacts for this group, freeing officers to respond to other public safety needs. Last year, the Citywide 200 saw a 50.4% reduction in the number of police contacts with these offenders. 12
Reduce Chronic Offender Recidivism 70 60 Number of Citywide Top 200 Chronic Offenders on Active Probation Supervision 59 50 40 30 36 42 32 20 10 0 2013 2014 2015 2016 Number on Active Probation to PO 13
Diversion Initiatives Goal: Provide meaningful alternative consequences for low level non-repeat offenders Objective: Increase number of diversion referrals and successful completion Objective: Increase number of pre-court and pre-charge referrals Over the last five years, the MCAO has expanded alternatives to traditional criminal prosecution, adding new diversion opportunities and expanding the list of non-violent offenses eligible for diversion and restorative justice. By increasing diversion opportunities for non-violent, non-repeat offenders, we can provide a more meaningful consequence while reducing the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction. In 2015 we received funding for a Diversion Coordinator position. Her duties include screening all MCAO cases for diversion eligibility, monitoring diversion program compliance and increasing awareness of the MCAO s diversion programs. In 2016 with the assistance of our Diversion Coordinator our office referred 1,019 defendants to our diversion programs. 191 defendants were referred pre-court; 5 were referred precharge; and 823 were referred from their court appearance. Our goal in 2017 is to increase the number of referrals made both pre-court and pre-charge. Pre-Charge Diversion In 2016 our office worked with the Hennepin County Justice Integration Project (HJIP) and City IT to allow us to offer pre-charge diversion. When a police officer writes a court required citation, that citation will be routed into our citation holding tank prior to any court record being created. This allows our charging team the opportunity to review the citation to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed and if there is, to determine whether the defendant would qualify for one of our diversion programs. For cases dismissed due to insufficient evidence or due to participation in a diversion program, no official court record is created, reducing the collateral consequences to the defendant, including the need to pursue an expungement. For those citations where there is sufficient evidence and the defendant does not qualify for or chooses not to participate in a diversion program, the citation is pushed through and a court record is created. 14
Diversion Initiatives 1200 Defendants referred to Diversion Programs 1019 Defendants 745 Defendants 1000 1 105 615 Defendants 49 800 151 26 55 2 600 227 66 95 400 200 172 Defendants 23 9 18 12 486 596 520 0 110 2017 through Q1 2016 2015 2014 DDP RJCA Shoplift Interact Traffic Education Other 15
Hold Offenders Who Commit Violent Crimes Accountable Gross Misdemeanor Weapons Prosecutions Objective: Reduce recidivism for offenders convicted of carrying a pistol without a permit The MCAO aggressively prosecutes weapons-related offenses. We separately track these matters and achieve a high conviction rate. In researching these cases, we found a high rate of recidivism among these offenders and often for more serious, violent offenses. This group also tends to be young, typically between the ages of 18-25. Our office has partnered with Urban Ventures to create an alternative sentencing option for these defendants called The Pathways to New Beginnings Program. This new program is a post-conviction program. The first phase of the program is four months in length and consists of approximately 5-7 hours of programming each week. The second phase of the program is 12 months in length, and consists of one group session and one individual session with a case manager each month. The program was designed with the goal of providing a community-based consequence for these defendants that will address the risk factors and needs of these defendants and be more effective in reducing the risk of recidivism than the traditional jail sentencing being imposed. 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% Number of Gross Misdemeanor Weapons Cases and Conviction Rates 96% 86% 88% 90% 92% 87% 84% 82% 83% 100% 200 180 160 140 120 50% 40% 30% 20% 87 81 45 68 45 72 60 61 37 40 100 80 60 40 10% 20 0% 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 0 Percent Convicted Number of Convictions 16
Hold Offenders Who Commit Violent Crimes Accountable Driving under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol 1950 1800 1650 1500 1350 96% 51 19 96% 47 20 97% 37 19 97% 98% 57 28 35 31 97% 39 36 98% 36 27 97% 35 22 1200 1050 900 1671 1656 750 600 1450 1278 1411 1537 1516 1322 450 300 150 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Convictions Declined Dismissed Conviction Rate 17
Initiatives: HOMES Court The MCAO, the Fourth Judicial District, Hennepin County Homeless Access Team, Hennepin County Probation, St. Stephens Human Services, local shelter providers and several local social services providers have partnered together to create a unique specialty court designed to address the needs of homeless offenders as they navigate the criminal justice system. The court is called the Hennepin County HOMES Court (Housing Outreach for Minneapolitans Establishing Stability). The purpose of HOMES Court is to reduce homelessness and recidivism. HOMES Court serves to address the unique needs of individuals who are in the criminal justice system and experiencing homelessness. HOMES Court creates a site for direct collaboration and communication between service providers and the court system. Unlike other treatment courts, HOMES Court does not mandate sobriety for all participants. Instead, chemical dependency and mental health services are offered as a tool to help the participant maintain housing. HOMES court was expanded in 2016 both in the number of cases referred to the court and the calendar went from bi-monthly to weekly. HOMES court is now successfully integrated with the Integrated Access Team, which helps to manage social services and harm reduction for participants experiencing homelessness. HOMES court also created a Navigator position to work with participants to connect them with shelter advocates in the community in order to obtain housing as quickly as possible and to provide supportive services as needed. The Navigator role was expanded in 2016 and now the Navigator also helps to screen individuals for HOMES court, provides temporary case management until a permanent community advocate is secured and acts as a direct liaison between the court and the homeless community. From 2011 through 2016, the MCAO has referred 160 defendants to HOMES Court. Data from HOMES Court between July 2014 and December 2015 shows the following results: 48% reduction in days spent in shelter 47% reduction in detox admissions 50% reduction in arrests $139,716 estimated costs savings for HOMES court intervention 18
Initiative: Little Earth Byrne Grant Working in partnership with Little Earth of United Tribes, our office was awarded a Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program Planning Grant through the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice on October 1, 2015 for an 18 month process to conduct research and analysis of the drivers of persistent criminal activity in the Little Earth Community. Under the planning grant, research and analysis using both qualitative and quantitative data was used to engage the community in developing an implementation plan for specific and targeted programming to reduce violence. The bulk of the research and analysis was completed in 2016. Based upon the primary findings of the grant, an implementation plan was created. The partnership also applied for the FY 2017 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Implementation Grant with Hamline University as the fiscal agent. The grant was applied for to assist in funding the implementation plan. The cross sector partnership team continues to meet and look for alternative funding sources for the projects proposed in the implementation plan and to maintain the community engagement model started at Little Earth by the community participants under the planning grant. 19
Initiative: Pre-Filing Charging Review Team Pilot In connection with our 2016 budget, we requested and received funding to create a charging team as part of a two-year pilot project. The team is comprised of two experienced prosecutors who are assigned to review police reports to determine whether the charges are supported by sufficient evidence to proceed with prosecution. The ultimate goal is for the team to review the charges before they are filed with the court. This would help prevent the collateral consequences of having a criminal charge showing up on a background check unless it is a charge our office has determined is supported by probable cause with sufficient evidence for prosecution. In 2016 the charging team reviewed 3,710 citations prior to court and reviewed 3,486 cases for charging by complaint. A second goal of the project is to have the team provide feedback to individual officers explaining why cases were dismissed or declined. This will allow us to provide real time, continuing education for individual officers to increase knowledge of the law to avoid citations from being issued or charges filed in the future that are not supported by sufficient evidence for prosecution. The charging team provided feedback to officers on 72 declined citations. A third goal was to help reduce the number of bench warrants issued on citation and complaint summons. In 2015, the court issued 17,000 bench warrants for failing to appear in court on lowlevel misdemeanors. Many people miss court because they didn t know they had court to begin with because they never received the summons in the mail. This is often due to the length of time between the initial police contact and the summons being sent out in the mail with the court date (sometimes up to 6 months). In an effort to reduce bench warrants our charging team has committed to reducing the amount of time between a citation being issued and a court date being set and reducing the length of time between case submissions and charging determination for criminal complaints. The charging team reduced the time from citation charging determination to case resolution from an average of 72.86 days down to an average of 37.94 days. The charging team reduced the time from case submission to charging determination for criminal complaints from an average of 26.36 days to an average of 13.57 days. 20
Initiative: Pre-Filing Charging Review Team Pilot Increased Speed in which Citations are Reviewed, Set for Court & Resolved in Court 150 120 90 60 30 0 121.45 128.4 96.77 94.58 80.52 45.69 72.86 47.56 33.84 24.27 36.8 7.63 9.55 37.94 8.31 2014 2015 2016-Pre 2016-Post 2017 Time from Citation filing to MCAO Citation Charging Determination Time from Citation Charging Determination to Case Resolution Time from Citation filing to MCAO Citation to Case Resolution Increased Speed in which Complaints are Reviewed, Set for Court & Resolved in Court 180 170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 169.64 133.79 160.34 123.59 36.64 39.23 113.87 90.7 26.36 64.77 54.7 13.57 35.51 31.59 2014 2015 2016-Pre 2016-Post 2017 Time from Complaint Submission to Charging Determination Time from Complaint Filing in Court to Case Resolution Time from Complaint Submission to MCAO to Case Resolution 9.04 21
The Adult Detention Initiative (ADI) is a collaborative of Hennepin County criminal justice partners focused on ensuring a fair, equitable and effective justice system by using best practice strategies system-wide to assess who needs to be in detention, to create alternatives for those who don t, and to reduce the length of pre-trial detention while protecting public safety and remaining cognizant of the impact detention has on economically disadvantaged communities and communities of color. The MCAO along with a representative from district court administration led a sub-committee to develop a pilot program to deal with bench warrants on misdemeanor cases where the defendant fails to appear for the first appearance sent in the mail via summons. This sign and release pilot program began in July 2016. This was in response to the number of defendants who missed, court and were held in pre-trial detention simply because they could not afford to post the minimal bail required (often only $78). These defendants presented a low-risk to public safety as they were charged with low-level non-violent misdemeanor offenses. Under this new program, when a defendant fails to appear in court in response to a summons, instead of issuing a bench warrant with monetary bail attached and requiring pre-trial detention, the court issues a no bail required warrant (sign and release warrant). When law enforcement locates a defendant with a sign and release warrant, instead of taking the person to jail and requiring the posting of monetary bail to be released, the officer gives the defendant a new court date. If the defendant fails to show up for that court date a warrant with monetary bail will then issue. During the pilot phase of this program (July-December 2016), 67.9% of the defendant who were given a new court date by the officer appeared in court as required. 22
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Civil Division Results 24
Civil Division Goal: The work of the Civil Division is resultsdriven and customer focused, assisting clients in maximizing desired outcomes, while minimizing risks of liability The chart below shows the total number of new court cases, administrative hearings, claims and charges of discrimination. This measure reflects the potential annual financial impact on the City from its risk generating activities performed in a manner that may result in liability from a formal lawsuit. The measure also includes court cases in which the Civil Division is preserving the non-monetary interests of the City or defending the conduct of City departments, managers or employees. 800 Total New Court Cases, Claims and Administrative Hearings 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 490 461 381 336 315 355 296 269 217 242 224 179 147 158 163 124 109 114 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total New Court Cases, Claims and Administrative Hearings New Court Cases 25
Civil Litigation This chart shows a comparison of the numbers of lawsuits resolved by a judgement in court as opposed to settlement. It is one of a number of measures that are important to track to ensure the City is achieving the best results in litigation matters. Percentage of Civil Cases Settled Court Resolution Settled w/ Payout 59% 47% 33% 43% 52% 51% 48% 68% 58% 41% 53% 67% 57% 48% 49% 52% 32% 42% 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 26
Civil Litigation Rates of Wins vs. Losses in Court Cases 45 40 95% 95% 35 90% 30 93% 86.5% 95% 25 91.5 20 15 10 5 100% 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Wins 39 39 28 21 37 26 22 22 Losses 2 2 2 1 4 4 2 0 93% Win Rate for Court Cases Resolved by Judgment of Court (not settled) 27
Civil Litigation Liability Payouts (in Thousands) $4,500 Duy Ngo Case $3,200 Pall Corp. Case $2,300 Metro Produce $2,189 $3,075 Felder Smith Case $2,465 $1,331 $2,888 $2,091 $2,836 $1,416 $2,406 $1,845 $2,293 $1,256 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 28
Client Services Sick and Safe Time Ordinance: The City Attorney s Office molded several key elements of the Workplace Partnership Group s sick and safe leave policy recommendations, including scope, usage, accrual, implementation, monitoring, and enforcement, into legislation. The resulting Sick and Safe Time Ordinance in Chapter 40 of the Code of Ordinances provides sick and safe time accruals for all workers in Minneapolis and is a critical step forward in preserving and protecting safety, health and general welfare. The City Attorney s Office continues to assist the Civil Rights Department as it works to implement the ordinance. Target Market Program Ordinance: The City Attorney s Office assisted in drafting ordinances to create the new Target Market Program. This program is intended to provide a race-neutral and gender-neutral tool to expand opportunities for, and develop the capacity of, small and local businesses so that all segments of the community may participate in City contracts. Under the Target Market Program, qualified small businesses will have the ability to respond alongside other similarly situated small businesses for City contracts up to $100,000 instead of competing against larger, more established companies. Section 8 Ordinance Amendments: In collaboration with the Civil Rights Department, the City Attorney s Office facilitated the amendment of Chapter 139 of the Code of Ordinances to prohibit discrimination against Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher holders. These amendments are intended to put Section 8 voucher holders on equal footing with other people seeking housing options in Minneapolis. The amendments seek to broaden the opportunities for access to housing that is otherwise not affordable to families and individuals without a Housing Choice Voucher. The ordinance will take effect May 1, 2018, and the Civil Rights Department will oversee enforcement of the ordinance. The City Attorney s Office continues to assist and support the Civil Rights Department as the effective date approaches. 29