RAMSEY COUNTY, Minn. — The state commerce department reports 44 cars were stolen on average every day last year in Minnesota — that's almost one or two cars an hour.
Now, the department is awarding a new round of grant money to help prosecutors and police reduce carjackings and car theft.
Thursday, the Ramsey County Sheriff's and Attorney's Offices announced they're receiving more than $1.4 million through June 2025. They also received funding in 2021, a time when carjacking cases rose steeply metro-wide.
"We in law enforcement also saw a major uptick in offenders fighting and fleeing and attempting to evade arrest," Ramsey County investigator Kyle Williams said.
Through the Minnesota Auto Theft Prevention Grant Program, the Minnesota Department of Commerce awarded a couple dozen agencies with grants, which expire this summer. Ramsey County got $1.1 million at the time, allowing the sheriff's office to establish a Carjacking and Auto Theft Unit.
Williams says CAT uses innovative techniques to stop thefts before they occur and respond quickly when they do.
"Compressed air fires this out of the mounted device," Williams said of a device called StarChase. "We now have live GPS tracking to the second and to the foot of where that vehicle is."
The CAT unit uses unmarked vehicles such as black pickup trucks.
"When we spot a stolen car, instead of merely lighting it up and alerting them of our presence … we'll use the element of surprise to attempt an arrest," Williams said. "We attempt to block or pin in the suspect vehicle."
Williams says deputies also use two stop sticks combined with a spring instead of the string of stop sticks general patrol officers typically place on the ground in anticipation of a stolen vehicle driving past them.
"We don't typically have that amount of time or foresight to be able to do this," Williams said. "I will simply cast these out the window and attempt to deflate their tires."
Williams says within a year-and-a-half of CAT's inception, the unit recovered hundreds of stolen cars worth around $6.8 million.
"We've seen carjackings in particular plummet to a very low number," he said.
St. Paul police report auto thefts are also down 32 percent from last year.
Williams says when stopping a stolen car, everyone in the car is arrested and booked, including youth. He says the youngest driver he remembers being involved in a case was only nine years old.
Williams emphasized the way to stop car crimes is not solely through arrest. That's why the grant money also goes toward connecting young people with partners like the African American Leadership Council, often getting them into programs even before their first court appearance.
"One kid in particular, we arrested both he and his girlfriend in a stolen vehicle," Williams said. "We actually got him a job at the rec center working with kids."
"We're at about 65 kids right now that we're actively working with in helping them get out of this criminal lifestyle."
The Minneapolis Police Department and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office also received grant money last time around. Unlike St. Paul's more than 30% decline, auto thefts in Minneapolis are currently up 69.3% from last year, according to public crime data. However, carjackings are down 46%.
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