by Scott McClallen
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s 2021 Uniform Crime Report shows a 21.6% increase in violent crime in the state.
Local law enforcement agencies submit the crime summary data to meet state and federal reporting requirements. A BCA crime data tool explores crime trends.
“The Department of Public Safety has stepped up investigations and proactive patrols in partnership with our federal, state and local officers,” Commissioner of Public Safety John Harrington said in a statement. “By following the data, we hope these efforts will reduce victimization, improve focused and effective rapid responses, and hold offenders accountable.”
Notable data includes:
- Minnesota saw a 21.6% increase in violent crime in 2021. Violent crime in greater Minnesota rose by 16%.
- There were 201 murders in 2021 in Minnesota compared with 185 in 2020, an increase of 8.65%. Firearms made up 73% of the weapons used in 2021 murders, down from 75% in 2020.
- There were 10,967 aggravated assaults in 2021, which is 33.7% higher than in 2020.
- The number of rapes increased in 2021. Almost half of the victims were minors (46%), and 71% of rapes occurred in a home.
- Motor vehicle theft rose 8.5% in 2021, with 14,829 vehicles stolen as compared to 13,662 in 2020.. In addition, there were 779 carjacking incidents in 2021, the first year this data was collected.
Officer-involved shooting incidents dropped in 2021 to 24, five fewer than in 2020. Peace officers were assaulted in 900 incidents in 2021, a 35% increase over 2020. One police K-9 was fatally wounded in the line of duty in 2021.
Minnesota agencies reported 30 use-of-force incidents in 2021, down from 45 in 2020. Of the 30, 13 people died, 11 resulted in a serious injury requiring medical attention, and seven included a non-injury incident.
Of the use of force incidents, the agencies reported race information of the civilian involved. Seventeen were white, eight were Black, two were unknown or not reported, and two were American Indian. One result is still pending.
Senate Public Safety and Judiciary Committee Chair Warren Limmer cited the report as evidence that crime is “uncontrolled” under Gov. Tim Walz.
“Today’s report makes it clear: Under the Governor’s watch, crime is uncontrolled. Senate Republicans stopped all efforts to ‘Defund the Police’ and prioritized more resources for law enforcement, increased sentences for repeat violent offenders, and access to a new data base to follow the increasing ‘soft on crime’ decisions of judges and prosecutors,” Limmer said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Walz has touted boosted law enforcement presence in the Twin Cities this summer after a chaotic 4th of July weekend.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi.
