Minneapolis: Most dangerous downtown of any US major city? (Edina: low crime, neighborhoods)

[xz2y]

This article about the recent DT violence caught my attention, as I lived in Mpls during the 70s for grad school and then in 2010 I returned for a one-year project. When I returned in 2010, I felt far more unsafe downtown compared with the 70's and there were definitely more gangs around. One issue back then was an SUV filled with punks that would drive around the city and look for people waiting at bus stops, pull up, jump out, surround them, rob them, and then jump back into their SUV and drive off.

Personally, I think the only way to get a handle on the DT violence is to have a much larger police presence in the DT areas where this stuff is happening. As an earlier poster mentioned, there are lots of places DT where perps can linger and lurk, making it hard to police. More CCTV cameras, perhaps, would also be a good idea. Too bad this is happening to a great city.

18 charged in two violent group robberies in downtown Mpls. - StarTribune.com

"Robberies in downtown Minneapolis jumped by more than 50% this year as groups of mostly teenage boys or young men targeted and beat victims for their cellphones and wallets."

"Police said 240 robberies were reported in Minneapolis this year as of Aug. 26, up from 156 the same time last year. Twenty-three robberies took place in a single week at the end of August alone."

[naycherboy]

Originally Posted by Citykid3785

First off, no I don't think it's the most dangerous downtown, not by a longshot. I can think of many cities I felt more unsafe in.

That said, below are what I think are some contributors that make it MORE dangerous than one might think a MN city would be (just guesses):

Lots of loitering spaces: skyways, tons of benches and bus stops on Nicollet mall
lack a police presence because of the perceived safeness of the state/city. This is the opposite of NYC (which some might think in dangerous given it's size, however it has an overabundance of police to compensate for that).

In full transparency, I spent the better part of my weekends downtown when I turned 21 (sigh). I bring that up because in that time, I DID see guns drawn, I saw a gang smashing windows in a parking lot (mine included), I heard gun shots and had people tripping over my car hood as they scattered, I saw police with guns drawn chasing somebody. Now granted, this is at 1 am in the warehouse district. But I did see some crazy stuff go down.

Interesting and accurate comments on the loitering spaces. That's definitely a factor on feel as well as opportunity for bad things to happen

And let's be clear; NYC is close to the safest city in the country. Look at the numbers.

Hard to rate just the downtown area, but its certainly one of the worst.

[TwinsFan1975]

Originally Posted by Cruz Azul Guy

We frequent DT Minneapolis with our young children and have never had any issues. I’ve always noticed a decent police presence there so not sure why you’re asserting that the city is making no effort to keep downtown safe?

Well here's one example. Just last night walking to my glass, you have people openly smoking and dealing the dope around the Warehouse District LRT station. Two cops are standing within 20 yards of all that illegal activity (yes, those things are still illegal here) and the cops are just whistling into the wind like it's another day in Mayberry. This did not happen as blatantly just two years ago as it does now. It changed when Frrey and the Clowncil said stop enforcing livability issues and stop arresting the blacks smoking dope around the LRT stations because you're arresting too many blacks.

Combine the above with some on the Clowncil saying that we don't need to add one single cop and those are just two examples why I say they don't care. I could give you 20 more but my fingers are getting tired from typing this.

[TwinsFan1975]

Originally Posted by delunsa

Looks like Minneapolis has a hate crime problem.

Sounds like they can't charge the thugs with a hate crime because there is no evidence the victims were targeted for being white. But you can bet there was an extra dose of rage in the attack and enjoyment of the attack by the thugs BECAUSE the victims were white.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by TwinsFan1975

Well here's one example. Just last night walking to my glass, you have people openly smoking and dealing the dope around the Warehouse District LRT station. Two cops are standing within 20 yards of all that illegal activity (yes, those things are still illegal here) and the cops are just whistling into the wind like it's another day in Mayberry. This did not happen as blatantly just two years ago as it does now. It changed when Frrey and the Clowncil said stop enforcing livability issues and stop arresting the blacks smoking dope around the LRT stations because you're arresting too many blacks.

Combine the above with some on the Clowncil saying that we don't need to add one single cop and those are just two examples why I say they don't care. I could give you 20 more but my fingers are getting tired from typing this.

And this scenario affected your safety how?

[TwinsFan1975]

Originally Posted by Cruz Azul Guy

And this scenario affected your safety how?

I'm no longer engaging with you. You asked for an example and I gave you one from just last night. Who are you to judge what makes me feel safe or not? You are not interested in a conversation. Your mind is closed and you will simply keep deflecting back onto people who try to have an honest conversation with you.

Buh bye.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by TwinsFan1975

I'm no longer engaging with you. You asked for an example and I gave you one from just last night. Who are you to judge what makes me feel safe or not? You are not interested in a conversation. Your mind is closed and you will simply keep deflecting back onto people who try to have an honest conversation with you.

Buh bye.

Yeah...that’s what I thought.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Funny how they call it robbery. It doesn't look like robbery to me. They are beating them well after they took their stuff. One rode a bike over a guy. These are hate crimes. Why they are angry is of no use to me.

Like another post said - conceal carry. It's your only option.

[FJhg]

There are diversity maps out there, and you can see how huge, black and segregated North Minneapolis is. I think when you have massive segregated neighborhoods like that it's just a recipe for disaster, many cities especially on the west coast are much more diversely spread out.

[naycherboy]

Originally Posted by Cruz Azul Guy

Yeah...that’s what I thought.

I was hoping for a more intelligent argument, but a response could have been along the lines of the Broken Window Theory. Its a subject for debate, but many feel that enforcing the law on smaller crimes will enforce safety and prevent larger crimes.