The demographics of crime in Minnesota, with updated 2022 data

Violent crime was slightly down in 2022, from the sky-high levels of 2021. The state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) issued its annual Uniform Crime Report today. The good news is that crime levels are down across the state (report, p. 9).

Violent crime in Minnesota, while down in 2022, remains above pre-Covid/George Floyd levels.

Last year, I wrote posts reviewing data from both the 2020 BCA report and the 2021 report, and I noted some of the demographic trends in Minnesota violent crime, focusing on murders.

In 2020, there were 175 murder victims of whom the race of the victim is known. Of that known total, it was established that 61 percent of the victims (107) were African-American. Keep in mind that African-Americans make up less than 10 percent of Minnesota’s total population.

In 2021, there were 188 murder victims of whom the race is known. Of that total, 65 percent (123) were African-American.

In 2022, there were 177 murder victims of whom the race is known. Of that total, 55 percent (98) were African-American.

The demographics of offenders roughly matches that of the victims of murder in Minnesota.

In 2020, there were 189 perpetrators of murder for whom a race was identified. Keep in mind that a single murder can be perpetrated by more than one offender, and that not all murders are solved. Of that total, 66 percent of offenders (125) were identified as being African-American.

In 2021, there were 275 perpetrators of murder identified by race. Of that known total, 76 percent (209) were identified as African-American.

In 2022, there were 244 perpetrators of murder identified by race. Of that total, 72 percent (175) were identified as African-American.

Keep in mind how vanishingly small these numbers are. As devasting as the individual events are for families and communities, the total numbers represent a tiny fraction of the state’s population of 5.8 million.

Here is the pie chart of the 2022 data, as presented in the BCA report,

In 2022, the level and share of both murder victims and offenders who were African-American fell from the year before. Likewise, the number and share of “unknown” victims and offenders fell last year.

However, the share of African-American victims fell faster than the share of African-American offenders, giving the above graph a skewed appearance.

The full BCA report contains a wealth of additional information.