Minneapolis police unveil strategies for crime-heavy summer ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Minneapolis police are stepping up patrols in high-crime areas citywide while asking the community’s help to tame the crime spike that usually accompanies warmer weather.

Each of the department’s five precinct inspectors laid out their anti-crime strategies for the upcoming months at a midday news conference at police headquarters.

For example, officers in the Third Precinct will partner with Metro Transit police and probation officers to patrol known drug and prostitution areas along E. Lake Street, Franklin Avenue and in the Little Earth housing complex between 9 a.m. and midnight, said inspector Catherine Johnson.

In north Minneapolis, officers on foot patrol will reach out to residents and business owners to address concerns and build relationships, said Fourth Precinct inspector Mike Kjos.

“What that does is it kind of shocks the conscience of people out there,” Kjos said of the beefed up patrols. The precinct is also getting an additional 15 officers, he said.

City officials last month announced the revival of the Joint Enforcement Teams (JET) initiative, an ongoing partnership between the department, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the State Patrol and Metro Transit police, to patrol crime-heavy areas on the city’s North Side.

The patrols of police officers and sheriff’s deputies will focus their attention on busy crime spots in the Fourth Precinct to try to keep a lid on increases in violence that the summer months bring. City officials say the beefed-up patrols will begin May 26 and continue until Sept. 2.

Violent crime has dropped about 2 percent compared to this time last year, but it remains about 10 percent higher than it was through May 2015, department statistics show. Meanwhile, property crimes such as burglary and arson have jumped following a dip last year, records show.

In the Fifth Precinct, which has seen the biggest year-over-year percentage increase in violent crime, inspector Kathy Waite said she planned to have extra foot patrols in bustling shopping and dining districts in Uptown, the LynLake area and Eat Street.

First Precinct inspector Michael Sullivan said community involvement is essential to fighting crime downtown.

“Each of the precincts here have their own flavor, their own individuality,” he said.

 

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