UMPD expands into Dinkytown while violent crime drops

Residents and local business owners say they appreciate the university police’s increased presence in Dinkytown through expanded 911 response and a new safety center

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By Hannah Reynolds  / The Hubbard School

Amid a continuing citywide decline in violent crime, the University of Minnesota Police Department is one-third of the way through a year-long pilot program to handle all 911 calls in parts of Dinkytown and Marcy-Holmes. 

The mutual aid program between departments, launched in late March, was aimed at addressing delayed response times in the neighborhoods surrounding the university due to staff shortages within the Minneapolis Police Department. The agreement expanded UMPD’s jurisdiction to include areas not owned or leased by the university, changing its longstanding relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department and extending its presence into neighborhoods around the university. 

MPD spokesperson Garrett Parten said while UMPD has taken the lead and is the primary agency dispatched to calls in Dinkytown and Marcy-Holmes, MPD continues to respond to all violent crime and high-priority calls with the assistance of UMPD.  

“If they’re not available, we are going,” Parten said. “If there is something and they need assistance or backup, we are certainly going or, if it is significant enough, like a shooting, we are not necessarily going to wait to get dispatched.”

Over the last several months, UMPD has additionally been in charge of criminal investigations related to 911 calls they respond to, unless the incident is a major crime — which MPD defines as homicides, assaults with a deadly weapon, criminal sexual conduct, and other violent crimes — or MPD requests to investigate, according to statements provided by MPD. 

By the numbers

In a university Board of Regents meeting in June, UMPD Chief Matt Clark said violent crime continues to trend down in Dinkytown, dropping by 60% in 2023. That continues a trend of falling crime rates since the tail end of the coronavirus pandemic.

During the pandemic, violent crime rose for the first time in Minneapolis since 2018, surging by 17.2% in 2020 and 21.6% in 2021, according to the 2021 Minnesota Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime report. 

Crime remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, though violent crime decreased in both 2022 and 2023.

The term violent crime varies in definition between departments. Violent crime is considered homicide, rape, aggravated assault and robbery, according to the MPD. More broadly, violent crimes include offenses that involve force or threat of force, according to the FBI. 

Citywide violent crime over the last several years has decreased, with the number of homicides, robberies, gunshot wound victims and carjackings dropping from 2021 through 2023, according to data from the Minneapolis Crime dashboard. 

• Homicides dropped 14.7%, from 102 to 87

• Robberies dropped 34.9% from 2,226 to 1,449

• Gunshot wound victims dropped 36.78% from 658 to 416

• Carjackings dropped 53.5% 656 to 305

• Abductions dropped 1.52% from 197 to 194 

• Assault offenses increased 12.67% from 9,366 to 10,737

• Sex offenses increased 3.78% from 818 to 849

Assault offenses, which include domestic aggravated assault and sex offenses increased while abductions fluctuated and dropped over the same three-year period, according to the dashboard.

Weapons law violations and shots fired calls decreased, according to the dashboard. Burglary, vandalism of property, motor vehicle theft and stolen property offenses increased. 

• Burglary/breaking & entering increased 2.79% from 2,549 to 2,620

• Destruction/damage/vandalism of property increased 35.55% from 4,872 to 6,604

• Motor vehicle theft increased 84.39% from 4,272 to 7,877

• Stolen Property Offenses increased from 12.98% from 393 to 444

MPD is still operating with historic low levels of officers, which dropped to 565 at the start of 2024. The department had nearly 900 officers in 2019; MPD now has the lowest officer-to-resident ratio in the country.

Clark said at the start of summer, UMPD had 62 sworn officers on staff, an increase from 50 at the start of 2024 and a low of 46 in 2022. From March to June, UMPD officers responded to 172 911 calls from University Ave SE to 4th Street SE and Interstate 35W to Oak Street SE while MPD responded to an additional 40 and assisted UMPD with other calls. 

Community response

Naamah Murphy, 19, a manager at Annie’s Parlour, said while the business has had limited interactions with UMPD since the start of the pilot program, in instances where they have called, the department has been helpful and prompt.  

“They have done a good job,” Murphy said. “We haven’t had a ton of issues where we have had the need to call them, but we have had some loitering going on the patio and they always respond quickly.”

Nicholas Juarez, a university community engagement liaison for the Department of Public Safety, said UMPD is slated to open an off-campus safety center on 14th Avenue SE that housed the now-closed Kitty Cat Club.  

Juarez said the center hopes to work with student groups and be a hub for self defense and safety awareness classes closer to student living, in addition to providing a space with university security presence during the week where students can study. The center will also assist with coordinating additional UMPD safety resources and initiatives in Dinkytown. 

“I think it will be a good thing because Dinkytown has been relatively unsafe recently,” Murphy said. “Annie’s got vandalized on the night of the 4th of July, I walked in the next morning and we had a broken window, so I think having some sort of a police presence in general aside from cop cars driving around is going to be helpful.” 

Murphy said while people are not thrilled about the Kitty Cat Club’s permanent closure, there is a necessity for the safety center in Dinkytown and is hopeful for what it could mean for the community. 

Tony Nicklow, 50, the owner of Tony’s Diner in Dinkytown, said while he has not had to call the police in the last year, the interactions he has had with UMPD in the past have been positive and helpful. 

He said just knowing UMPD is in the area is reassuring and he appreciates their collaboration with the MPD.

“They come here quite a bit to eat and what not, so I get to know a few of them and they are responsive when we have had to call,” Nicklow said. “One time I thought something was going to go down and I called them, and the UMPD officers walked me through what to do.”