Violent crime rates in more than a dozen Twin Cities suburbs have increased over the last couple of years, according to five years of crime data analyzed by the Star Tribune.
“A total of 51 homicides were recorded in those suburban communities in 2021, more than double the 22 recorded in 2019. But most of the increase occurred in the north metro suburbs,” according to the report.
The outlet detailed:
Similarly, the total number of robberies in 2021 rose 20% from a pre-pandemic average. But nearly two-thirds of that increase occurred in six neighboring cities: Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Robbinsdale, New Hope, Crystal and Columbia Heights. The majority of metro-area suburbs saw little or no increase in violent crime.
The report noted that suburb rates “still pale in comparison to Minneapolis and St. Paul,” which surpassed previous records with 135 homicides combined last year. Minneapolis is notably ground zero for the Black Lives Matter protests and riots that occurred throughout the Summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd.
Onlookers watch as a destroyed fast food restaurant smolders near the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct, Thursday, May 28, 2020, after a night of rioting and looting as protests continue over the death of George Floyd. (Jim Mone/AP)
Carjackings increased in some suburbs last year, tripling pre-pandemic numbers, according to data from “a handful of agencies.” Twenty-two suburban police departments reported 28 carjackings in 2021 — a small fraction compared to the 600 incidents in Minneapolis.
The Star Tribune noted that the most consistent crime pattern across the suburbs was an increase in property crimes, “partially fueled by car thefts and an explosion of catalytic converter thefts.”
The suburbs that saw the largest rise in violent crime were Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Robbinsdale, New Hope, Crystal, and Columbia Heights.
“In fact, more than half of last year’s additional suburban homicides in the Star Tribune’s sample occurred in Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and Robbinsdale alone — while most other communities reported no more than one,” the report states. “Robbinsdale recorded five homicides in 2021 —including two cases of domestic violence — following a five-year period when the city saw only one. Just last week, a drive-by shooting killed two people.”
Robbinsdale police captain John Kaczmarek told the Star Tribune the city faces an increased risk of violence because it lies along the north side of Minneapolis, the location of 30 percent of the city’s violent crime in 2021. Crime in many of these metro areas was reportedly on the rise before 2020.