Violent and Property Crime Numbers in Minneapolis Continue to Hover Near 30 Year Lows January 15, 2015 (MINNEAPOLIS) The Minneapolis Police Department has released its comprehensive crime data for the year 2014. Chief Janeé Harteau says the results validate the extraordinary efforts and hard work of MPD Officers in partnership with members of the community. “I am proud of the members of this department for their tireless efforts in crime fighting while removing barriers and finding new ways to get out of their cars and connect with residents,” Chief Harteau remarked. In 2014, part 1 crimes were down .95% and property crimes were down 1.34%. These numbers come on the heels of historically low crime years. “It’s encouraging to see that overall, Minneapolis remains a safe city and crime continues to hover at the lowest levels in decades,” said Mayor Betsy Hodges. “Much of that success is due to the hard work of our police officers and investigators, led by Chief Harteau. My thanks go to our Officers, who worked long hours to achieve these great results. I’m pleased that in 2015, my budget provides for additional officers and more cadet and community service officer classes. We will continue to strive to do better so that Minneapolis is a safe city for everyone, all the time, in every neighborhood.” Chief Harteau and Mayor Hodges discussed the 2014 numbers at a press conference in North Minneapolis Thursday morning, where they were joined by City Council President Barbara Johnson, City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Blong Yang, MPD Officers and community members. The press conference was held at the North Regional Library in the 4th Precinct, which saw a reduction in violent crime. The year-end numbers also identify a few crimes that the MPD will concentrate on in 2015. Violent crime in the city was up slightly (.96%), robbery was up slightly (.21%) and aggravated assault was up 2.07% compared to 2013. The MPD will continue to target violent crime in 2015 and will release details on initiatives in the near future. Meanwhile, homicides were reduced 11.11% and burglary cases were down 10.69% in 2014, when compared to the previous year. That means there were 492 fewer burglaries. Nearly two-thirds of the overall decline took place in North Minneapolis and numbers also show that in the 3rd, 4th and 5th Precincts there were 527 fewer burglaries last year. “Crime data for last year highlights several pieces of good news. The statistics are pointing the right direction, but in many cases the perception is worse than the reality. The safety and livability issues that bother my neighbors and the people I represent are serious, and there is progress on them daily. Making the Northside safer is a shared sacrifice between all of the residents of our community, the police force, and the City as a whole. I want to thank the officers of the Minneapolis Police and Chief Harteau for their hard work this past year. I hope these trends continue – making the Northside safer is better for all of Minneapolis,” Council Member Yang said. Two categories that are of particular concern to both community members and Police Officers are juvenile crime and shooting incidents. The number of gunshot wound victims increased 4% last year while the number of gun recoveries also rose almost 4% over that same time period. The MPD has greatly increased its shot spotter system, added a state-of-the-art ballistics processing machine that taps into a national database, and put 2 investigators in a unit that responds to each and every shooting incident in the 3rd and 4th Precincts. These investigators are making face-to-face contacts and connecting guns and suspects. “I remain concerned, as do my constituents, about the gunfire that continues to plague our neighborhoods. I appreciate the work that our Officers have done which has contributed to the increase in gun seizures in the 4th Precinct,” Council President Johnson said. When it comes to juvenile crime in 2014, juvenile arrests were down 21% from 2013 and down 36% compared to 2012 numbers. The MPD has greatly enhanced and grown participation in its Police Activities League and 16 School Resource Officers are working with kids to find ways to solve problems and provide guidance instead of arresting them in many instances. “In 2015, we will continue to grow our successful initiatives and programs while implementing new plans to continue to keep crime low, engage our communities and make our streets safer. We will maintain our status as the nation’s #1 ‘National Night Out’ city and we will continue to grow the size and diversity of our total sworn staff. We are excited about the possibilities as we continue to serve with compassion, dedication and professionalism,” Chief Harteau concluded.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 22:10:38 +0000
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