Update from the Mayor – October 14, 2005

October 14, 2005

Success of the Strategic Summer Safety Partnership

61-day summer initiative reduced homicides, shootings and gang activity

This week Police Chief William McManus and I reported on the results of the Minneapolis Strategic Safety Partnership (MSSP), which successfully reduced the number of homicides and shootings in Minneapolis and increased the number of guns confiscated.  As one of the Police Department’s (MPD) primary 2005 public safety initiatives, the Partnership ran from July 1 – August 31 and coordinated numerous federal, state and regional resources to enhance Minneapolis’ capacity to prevent and respond to violent crime, especially gang-related crime in key neighborhoods.

The Partnership is credited with reducing homicides by 33% and reducing violent shootings by 4% when compared to the same period in 2004. Only one homicide occurred in the priority areas during this time and it did not appear to be gang-related. Homicides reduced 63% in the 4 th Precinct (Northside) and 67% in the 3 rd Precinct (Southside), both of which were priority areas for the initiative.

Citywide Change in Murders Before and After MSSP

1/1/04 –6/30/04

1/1/05 – 6/30/05

% Change Pre-MSSP

7/1/04 – 8/31/04

7/1/05 – 8/31/05

% Change During MSSP

20

31

+55%

12

8

- 33%

"Our main purpose with this strategy was to target gangs, drugs, and guns," Chief McManus reported.  "Our goal here was to reduce violence in the five most problematic neighborhoods in the City.  We accomplished that goal by reducing duplication of efforts, coordinating leadership, assigning accountability for specific gangs, enhancing intelligence, and leveraging our limited resources."

I chose to release the details of the report in North Minneapolis’ North Commons park, one of six city parks where evening youth activities were integrated into the broader public safety strategy.  The General Mills Foundation, Target Corporation, U.S. Bank, Cub Foods, Minneapolis Foundation, Northway Community Trust, and the Minneapolis Empowerment Zone contributed funding to extend the hours of parks in the most troubling neighborhoods in the City.

On average, 225 kids participated in the extended park hours each night. Moreover, there were no violent assaults in any of these parks during this time.  I believe that by working with the community we can enhance the good work of our police and reduce crime in the most troubled areas.  These business and philanthropic efforts helped make our community safer.

The unique partnerships employed by this crime-fighting strategy were based on best practices collected from around the country and could become a model for other cities.

Leveraging innovative partnerships is critical because, although they’re on the front line, Minneapolis Police officers are just a part of a larger public-safety team.  In 2004, 70% of the people accused of murder in Minneapolis were repeat offenders on probation from county corrections when they committed murder, so we have engaged our county and federal partners in an even more tightly coordinated effort to stop crime at its source.

Federal partners included the Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals, and U.S. Attorney. State of Minnesota partners include the Gang Task Force and Department of Corrections.

Local partners included the Hennepin County Sheriff, County Attorney, County Corrections and Probation, Metro Transit Authority Police, University of Minnesota Police, St. Paul Police Department, Minneapolis Police Community Relations Council, Step Up/Achieve Minneapolis, Minneapolis Parks, Minneapolis Empowerment Zone and the Minneapolis City Attorney.

Community organizations that participated included Folwell Neighborhood Organization, Jordan Area Community Council, Hawthorne Area Community Council, Pillsbury United Communities, Mad Dads, and the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce.

I am very concerned about gang-related violence and its affect on our neighborhoods.  We responded with a targeted and coordinated plan to keep residents safe.  This strategic approach to preventing and responding to violent crime is exactly what we needed and must be continued.

Minneapolis Officers Return from New Orleans 

Twenty-one Minnepaolis Police officers have returned from their deployment to New Orleans where they assisted local officials in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. They left Minneapolis for a two-week stay, working directly with the New Orleans Police Tactical Unit.

Our officers were part of an 80 person team from four Minnesota law enforcement agencies, including St. Paul, Bloomington, and Ramsey County. The entire Minnesota contingent was led by Minneapolis Lt. Otto Wagenpfeil, who is a New Orleans native. I want to thank our officers and Lt. Wagenpfeil for a job well done assisting those who so desperately needed our help under challenging circumstances. If you would like to see more about their mission, visit the website www.rrselect.net/mpd.aspx

Hurricane Relief Efforts Coordinator

In other news about the ongoing efforts following Hurricane Katrina, I have recruited former North Minneapolis legislator Gregory Gray for a newly created, temporary position to coordinate disaster relief and resettlement efforts in Minneapolis. He began September 19 and will work for the next three months to connect hurricane survivors to schools, housing and jobs. He will report to the Director of Emergency Preparedness Rocco Forte.

As coordinator, Gray will assess the local response to Hurricane Katrina and document lessons learned for use in future disaster-response planning. It is critical not only that we coordinate our immediate efforts well, but that we learn from this experience and use that knowledge to update our local emergency preparedness planning. I am proud of the efforts already underway to help hurricane survivors settle in Minneapolis and I want to be sure that my office can help support these efforts in the best way possible.

Published Oct. 14, 2005