CRIME RATES

In the 1970’s I lived in Minneapolis and always though of it as a relatively safe city. However, according to stats released yesterday, based on police reports, Minneapolis has one of the highest violent crime rates in the US, ranking 5th among th 20 worst cities.

If you believe the report, why. Mpls. friends have told me crime has risen tremendously, but being a bit naive I always thought the Mpls.-St. Paul area was one of the safest in the country.

If you respond please avoid politcal accusations, obviously once that happens the post will disappear.

Just curious about your opinions regarding the Twin Cities area.

I now reside about 15 miles north of Milwaukee.

I’ve lived in MPLS now for a year. Seems plenty safe to me. I guess it depends on where you hang out I guess.

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I’ve lived in MPLS now for a year. Seems plenty safe to me. I guess it depends on where you hang out I guess.

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That’ll be true almost wherever you go, crime rates will correspond areas of lower average socioeconomic status. Crime rates show the community I live in to be one of the most crime ridden in Iowa, but if I didn’t work with delinquent kids, I’d have no idea.

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I’ve lived in MPLS now for a year. Seems plenty safe to me

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I was in MPLS for 2 days for a wedding. Standing outside the Radison having a beer on their patio I had a dude tried to mug me for my beer.

Can’t say I think it is safe at all , and NO, he didn’t get my beer

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I’ve lived in MPLS now for a year. Seems plenty safe to me. I guess it depends on where you hang out I guess.

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No doubt…….the high VIOLENT crime stats are from the increased crime in the north MPLS area lots of gang activity, shootings, dowtown will have a bit of crime along with a few other sectors.
Any time you have 400,000 people living in an area there will be some crime.
40 years in south MPLS never been a victim of any crime.
2 minutes from from a Pool 2 boat launch….I’ll never move!

There is actually a simple answer… Generous Welfare System
This state attracts low lifes from all over the country because we’ll give money to anyone with little to no questions asked. There are many people here who consistantly abuse the system, and these people are having kids to get even more money. And with no good role models for these kids, theyre growing up to do the same. The whole thing is very disheartening.

I think it’s terrible. I’ve been in VERY close proximity to three seperate murders in the city. One we were staying at a hotel for softball,1993, guy was shot and killed in the parking lot right outside our window. Another was when I lived in Brooklyn Park, guy was murdered in the next apartment over,1996…I was playing a shooting game on my PS when there was a bang which sounded a lot different than the games gun!! The last one was last summer by the Target center, we were hanging down there for a stag party when gun shot started popping. You all may remember that one, it was the one where the guy got shot in the neck and killed, got caught in the crossfire between gangs. So, I don’t think it’s safe, for good reason!

BIRDDOG

2fish;
Can you post your stats?

I heard something of the 8th murder in Minneapolis for 2007. I also heard on the news that New Orleans is leading the country with 27 murders so far this year. But I don’t have stats. Not sure where to look either.

I live in S. Mpls. Nothing has happened so far to give the crime central feeling.

Last year after the Northwest Sports Show a group of us were coming out of a restaurant nearby when a drive by took place and a random person was shot and killed within a half block of the restaurant.

Still seems as safe as anywhere else to me.

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I was in MPLS for 2 days for a wedding. Standing outside the Radison having a beer on their patio I had a dude tried to mug me for my beer.

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LOL

Real muggers don’t want your beer. Sounds like a drunk wanted your suds.

Good for you though for not giving it up without a fight.

No offense meant Mr. Shaver. The first time I read it through I got a good chuckle out of it.

Vikefan summed it up nicely. Crime rates have been increasing from Hibbing to Rochester and every place in between. The cause is obvious to some, most dont want to even talk about it though…

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Last year after the Northwest Sports Show a group of us were coming out of a restaurant nearby when a drive by took place and a random person was shot and killed within a half block of the restaurant.

Still seems as safe as anywhere else to me.

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Yeah maybe compared to other crime ridden cities. Dont sound too safe to me though…

I love mpls. I’ve been here my entire life – 38 years.(except 6 mo in New Ulm). The worst crime that I’ve expierenced was having my car radio swipped. My Bro. was delivering pizza for a while – Until a couple THUGS put a 45 to his head and took his $17, his keys and the pizza.
When the police arrived he gave them a description of the Escalade they fled in and the police said that it sounds like the same vehicle/occupants that were involved in a drive by shooting the night before. The officer told him the thugs were here from Gary Ind. and he has dealt with them before. This all happened in an area that should be torn down. It’s near Bossen field. Anyone familiar with that area knows you stay away from there.
Mpls overall is a safe city, there a just a few trouble spots creating most of the neg. stats.

Ive lived in Minneapolis most of my life.

Most of the violent crime happens within very small boundaries within the city. 98% of the murders that happen in this state happen within a couple miles radious including north minneapolis between broadway and 26th st, between lyndale and penn.. or in south minneapolis on the powderhorn/phillips neighborhood. The south minneapolis area has straitened out tremendously after many drug houses were shut down, it seems like the crime pushed north for now.

I love Minneapolis. But as with anywhere, theres places most people should avoid.

Out of the bad violent crime areas, the crime rate is very low other than few idiots breaking into cars for change(high school kids).

I dont care where you are in this day and age, its always a good idea to keep an eye over your shoulder and make it point not to put yourself in a vulnerable position anywhere, I don care how safe you think your town is.

Slops new moto is “They will take my beer when they pry it from my cold dead hands!!!”

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I was in MPLS for 2 days for a wedding. Standing outside the Radison having a beer on their patio I had a dude tried to mug me for my beer.

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LOL

Real muggers don’t want your beer. Sounds like a drunk wanted your suds.

Good for you though for not giving it up without a fight.

No offense meant Mr. Shaver. The first time I read it through I got a good chuckle out of it.

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Last year after the Northwest Sports Show a group of us were coming out of a restaurant nearby when a drive by took place and a random person was shot and killed within a half block of the restaurant.

Still seems as safe as anywhere else to me.

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Yeah maybe compared to other crime ridden cities. Dont sound too safe to me though…

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I grew up in Austin, MN and we had some of the nastiest murders and the suicide rate for 16 – 22 year old men was insane. I lost 4 friends in my late teens to suicide and knew the kid that killed an old man for a sock of pennies and burned up his body to hide the evidence. Another I can recall was a guy that was beat to death with a toilet tank lid.

This was in a town of 22,000 living in a corn field in southern mn.

Crime, murder, rape…. it can be found anywhere people live with other people.

I honestly feel VERY safe living here in south MPLS. My neighbors are mostly older, married couples with grown kids that no longer live at home.

I honestly feel VERY safe living here in south MPLS. My neighbors are mostly older, married couples with grown kids that no longer live at home.

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South Side!!!!
I can darn near spit on Nokomis from here!!

Many people are saying they “feel safe” the question that needs to be asked is, what does that mean to you. Do you feel safe in your norm, your neighborhood, you driving to and from work, or walking in a place you dont know by your self??? what do you mean by “feel safe”. for 95% of the people who are not involved in drugs,guns gangs,downtown night life etc… and hang out with your “social group” of people with similiar interests, you have no idea on what goes on as far as crime. Thats not a bad thing though. ..Everyone knows the media reports a VERY small number of the crimes that are cimitted….The media is how most people measure the amount of crime in their area…”feeling safe” has nothing to do with crime rising or falling, It also has nothing to do with living in a “good area” or not, its a perspective….you want to know whats going on in your community as far as crime goes and do you want to be educated as far as why you SHOULD feel safe or not??? Go to your local police dept. and ask to do a ride along…not a day shift but an evening or night shift….youll enjoy it and it will open your eyes….on that note “be safe” and be aware ….rat

Growing up on 27th and James in North Mpls. I have seen shootings,seen people killed on the streets, seen drivebys and been victim to a driveby. Even had my best friend from 5th grade beat to near death in school (North High School) as teachers stood by in fear of there own lifes to interefere. Pedro died that same week in the hospital of a split liver from being kicked during the beating.
This is the same area we once used to play football and kickball in the middle of the streets.
I drive thru the area once in awhile but never at night!!
Guns shots are now heard on a daily basis but fridays and saturdays more then other days of the week. It is so sad!
But crime rates are on the rise everywhere.

My fiancé worked with the guy that got gunned down by that little thug last year while he was walking between bars with his friends and his fiancé by the target center. I’ve also witnessed several years outside the Loon Cafe 50 cops chase down a guy who just shot someone in Banana Joes. It doesn’t need to be a murder for the area to be considered dangerous. I used to get dragged downtown to shows and dinner and we would get harassed by…well I guess the pc term would be loiterers…hanging around in front of every building and corner. Everybody knows not to go into North Minneapolis but why can’t the city do something to clean up the “theater” area of downtown? We have made the decision that is just isn’t really worth going down there anymore, which now that I think about it gets me out of having to go to see a show.

On the other hand, I have been to Majors in Apple Valley and wouldn’t surprise me at all if there is a shooting there some day. So all cities have their problems.

Here’s a question: what is more dangerous, downtown Minneapolis or the MOA at night?

This is why I live in the sticks!

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I’ve lived in MPLS now for a year. Seems plenty safe to me

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I was in MPLS for 2 days for a wedding. Standing outside the Radison having a beer on their patio I had a dude tried to mug me for my beer.

Can’t say I think it is safe at all , and NO, he didn’t get my beer

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Koonce doesn’t count.

I personally think Minneapolis is a cakewalk compared to many large cites. In my line of work (government energy services) one of our biggest customers outside of the military are public housing authorities, the real ghettos. Even better, I get to do on site building audits of them all the time, nationwide. Chicago, NY, DC, Kansas City, San Antonio, Houston, Tampa, Miami, LA, Dallas/Ft Worth, Seattle, Virgin Islands, Gary IN, and on and on. Those are scary places, not here.

Beleive me our little wannabe gangsters in Minneapolis aint got nothing on some of the boys in those places. Theres some areas that are downright scary as hell out there and for a larger city minneapolis definitely is not one of them. I’d spend the night on the street in N. Minny before I’d go to a lot of places elsewhere in the nation during the day.

Thats one of the reasons I moved up here after seeing some of the other cities out there. No matter where you go theres going to be violent crime but if you live in a big city you just cant beat the quality of life here in MPLS.

Gary, I figured someone might ask so I kept the newspaper article. The link to the writer is [email protected] so hopefully you can find the entire article there. It appeared on the front page of Tuesday’s paper. The data shows violent crimes per 100,000 population listing the 20 highest cities. The quoted source is FBI, Police Executive Research Forum. The report defines violent crimes as homicides, robberies and aggravated assaults; however, there is no data provided for each of those individual categories.

If the above doesn’t help I can post the cities and number of crimes per 100,000.

Finally, the data is for the first six months of 2006, and New Orleans isn’t even on the list, I suspect because they never reported. I spent some time in New Orleans a few years ago and saw more crime in a few weeks, including a murder in our hotel, then I witnessed during the entire five years I lived in Minneapolis.

As an aside the rankings, beginning with the highest crime rates list St. Louis, Detroit, Memphis, Baltimore and Minneapolis.

Hope this helps.

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Here’s a question: what is more dangerous, downtown Minneapolis or the MOA at night?

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Both places have a large number of people and your odds of being a vitim of any crime would still be near ZERO but I would say downtown would have a few more thugs.

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This is why I live in the sticks!

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I lived there once!

The meth heads stole everything that wasnt nailed down, and half the stuff that was nailed down! I brought the issue up many time with the local police department(right across street) and the crime never slowed down in my back yard.

I eventually made a direct comment to the chief in that town telling him I will catch whom ever is taking all this stuff and put a stop to it once and for all(he got the point)… there were no arrest, but nothing dissapeared again.

Pretty strange coincidence when stuff was getting stolen at least once a week?

I guess its easier to scare a suspect than it is to write a police report over a dead person

Have you been to the MOA on a week night? I have taken graduate classes there and there are not too many people shopping. There are a lot of people just hanging out in the mall and hanging out in the parking ramps. I don’t really expect anything to happen, but I do get a bit concern when the women in my class are carrying their laptop bags and walking by themselves. Easy targets.

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Slops new moto is “They will take my beer when they pry it from my cold dead hands!!!”

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I was in MPLS for 2 days for a wedding. Standing outside the Radison having a beer on their patio I had a dude tried to mug me for my beer.

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LOL

Real muggers don’t want your beer. Sounds like a drunk wanted your suds.

Good for you though for not giving it up without a fight.

No offense meant Mr. Shaver. The first time I read it through I got a good chuckle out of it.

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Good thing your bride came to the rescue Slop