Too often ignored by the hometown newspaper — violent crime remains a menace in Minneapolis
In mid-November, the Star Tribune ran a feel-good piece highlighting the efforts of a former DFL vice chair to show Minneapolis in a more positive light.
As expected, the paper chose not to print my response, so I offer it here to those who appreciate when opinion is supported by fact.
Zoe Jackson’s November 11th article entitled Lovely day: Minneapolis man looks to change narrative around Minneapolis with cheerful tweets, photos purported to “…push back against some of the negativity around safety and livability in Minneapolis…” In doing so Jackson labeled those who express concerns about safety and livability in Minneapolis as having an “outsider’s perception.” This is neither accurate nor helpful.
While it’s true that Minneapolis still has plenty of beautiful neighborhoods, restaurants, lakes and bike paths, it’s also true that Minneapolis has developed serious problems around safety and livability.
There are many Minneapolitans who are fed up with the increased crime and degraded livability of Minneapolis in recent years. The Star Tribune has run many articles describing the concerns of these residents.
There are also many Minnesotans who either used to live in Minneapolis, or who have fond memories of visiting or working there, but no longer find the city a safe or welcoming place to live or visit.
I’m one of them, having spent my first 25 years here, and the next 33 years working here as a sheriff’s deputy. I can say with authority that the randomness of crime we see today has led to a far more dangerous city than in the ‘90s when the New York Times gave it the moniker, “Murderapolis.”
Ours are not “outsider” perspectives. We represent an important and invaluable history of the city. We gave a part of ourselves to the city, and we are sickened by the unnecessary and avoidable downfall of this once great city.
Jackson briefly touched on crime, acknowledging that violent crime had surged to record levels in 2020, but was decreasing, “…even after an exodus of Minneapolis police officers that started in 2020.”
That “exodus of officers” represents over 40% of the police force walking away and carries the realization that it will take a decade or more to re-staff — especially in a city that has allowed its firebombed 3rd Precinct to sit vacant for 4.5 years. The police have become demoralized, and the criminals have become emboldened. That’s a toxic combination for any city trying to hold on, let alone rebuild.
The insinuation that crime is decreasing in Minneapolis is misleading at best. In Minneapolis violent crime increased 65% from 2018 – 2021, per FBI Uniformed Crime Report data. Despite slight reductions in 2022 and 2023, the violent crime rate remains 41% higher than in 2018 – a fact stubbornly ignored or obfuscated by local media — and things aren’t getting better.
The Minneapolis Crime Dashboard shows the 2024 numbers of murders, assaults, and robberies through November far outpace the numbers of those crimes in 2023. So much for trending down.
Don’t despair! The protagonist in Jackson’s story, Mike Norton, shared this uplifting observation: “Everyone knows someone who’s been mugged or carjacked, but that doesn’t mean it’s an everyday experience in Minneapolis.”
But it is. In fact, per the Minneapolis Crime Dashboard, during most of the 2020s someone has been shot, someone has been carjacked, and someone has been robbed in Minneapolis every single day on average.
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, one in five of these violent crimes occurred within 500 feet of the dozens of homeless encampments that have been allowed to exist in the city.
Since late 2023, at least 8 murders and a multitude of other violent crimes have occurred in and around these encampments. It’s become common knowledge that the encampments are operated by gangs who take advantage of the lawlessness and now control the distribution of fentanyl and human trafficking which have become an inherent part of the encampments.
Neighbors, businesses, visitors, and even the police are left to navigate the situation, literally, while many City Council members openly advocate for the encampments and against their removal.
Minneapolis represents just 7% of the state’s population, but accounts for one-third of all violent crime and nearly half of all robberies.
As Minneapolis goes, so does our state. Given this, we all have legitimate and valuable perspective about the direction Minneapolis is headed. We not only have the right, but also have a civic responsibility to share that perspective as we advocate for a safer, more law abiding, and more welcoming Minneapolis.