Minneapolis this dangerous? (St. Paul, Brooklyn Park, Fridley: crime rate, homes, university)

[robcynd]

This is from 2011 and all

but I've posted here before, and we're really really trying to figure our move out.

this kinda got us spooked.


The 11 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities - US News

just really concerned us. I know most big cities have bad crime rates, but wow 10th?

[Ghengis]

you're coming up on four years now, during that time you haven't come across the answer to this?

[robcynd]

I was really hoping for a less smart ass answer honestly.

Yeah it's been 4 years, and I know it isn't as bad now. I've done my research. My research says it's still quite dangerous... but I just wanted to know from someone who lives in MN about the area.

I even did the raid online map, and there's 2 areas that are infested with crime.

I assume it's just not a city to go alone in the dark in...?

[omaraz]

It depends on what you consider dangerous. I grew up in a town that the FBI ranks a 3rd in violent crime so what is considered dangerous to some might not be considered as dangerous to others. It's been my experience that if you just avoid the areas where most of the danger takes place you will have a better chance of not randomly being a victim of it. In my opinion Minneapolis isn't that bad but there are certain areas you just don't go to and you certainly wouldn't walk there at night.

[Ghengis]

I saw in another one of your threads where you will be coming up in March to check out some places, where have you decided to visit?

[MplsTodd]

I have a hard time thinking of Minneapolis as being in the top 10 for dangerous cities. There certainly is crime, but as you noted, it is primarily concentrated in two or three areas. I think of the city as being a hybrid between low-crime cities (such as Portland, Seattle and Salt Lake City) and higher-crime (but not extremely high-crime) midwest cities (such as Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Kansas City). Unlike Places like Cleveland & St. Louis, there aren't extensive areas of abandoned homes or bulldozed blocks. The near-north side has some of that (particularly after the 2009 tornado and the mortgage-crisis), but most neighbohoods in Mpls are pretty well in-tact.

One factor that always seems to cause Mpls crime stats to be high are sexual assaults. I have no idea why Mpls ranks so high in this category, but it bears mention that this crime is often under-reported and definitions of sexual assault vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Another factor is that the city has both a huge university and a sizable downtown with a large entertainment district. This is in a city that comprises only about 12-14% of the metro area population, so that also plays a part.

I've also seen other top ten lists of dangerous cities without Mpls being mentioned, so if you're really concerned, I'd dig further and research the facts. I've lived near Columbus for 2 years now and generally think that Columbus has more crime than Mpls.

[golfgal]

It would be interesting to see the entire list and the actual numbers (violent crime/capita).

Also, typically when you look at numbers statistically, the larger the sample size, the lower the "event" is spread out over that sample, so looking at the number of murders in an area, NYC or LA most certainly has WAY more murders than Minneapolis, but because it's bigger that rank is going to be lower. They are also still going back to ONE year in those rankings but not really looking at overall trends.

Looking at this list Minneapolis is 29th...United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and this list... The 15 Most Murderous Cities in the United States - PolicyMic

In their worst year with 99 murders, Minneapolis wouldn't even crack the top 15 of that list, in a year that was "low" for murder rates nationally...

So, stay out of the high crime areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul for that matter and you will be just fine...

[Evo M.P.L.S.]

Well it all depends on the area here, 98% of the Twin Cities are quite safe. There are areas (North Minneapolis, East St. Paul, Riverside-Ceder) that you might want to avoid if you are concerned with crime. Granted there are some suburbs maybe Fridley, or Brooklyn Park that have some decent areas, but some might say that it feels more dangerous, I guess it just depends on where you're from, and what you're used to.
Overall I think the Twin Cities are VERY safe, you don't have that feeling when walking down the street that you are in danger, but like I said, there are some areas you defiantly will want to avoid.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by robcynd

I was really hoping for a less smart ass answer honestly.

Yeah it's been 4 years, and I know it isn't as bad now. I've done my research. My research says it's still quite dangerous... but I just wanted to know from someone who lives in MN about the area.

I even did the raid online map, and there's 2 areas that are infested with crime.

I assume it's just not a city to go alone in the dark in...?

Overall, it's very safe, safer than most, but, yes, there are a couple of areas you would want to avoid. You seem to have identified them, so just don't go there. Besides, this is from US News and their "surveys" are notoriously unscientific. What more do you want to know?

[601halfdozen0theother]

I always find it profoundly weird when urban people justify their lives by saying "There's not THAT much crime here; there's crime everywhere; there's more crime in other places; if you're just smart and lock your doors and don't go into dangerous places you'll be fine."

The fact that you're willing to accept any crime at all as a normal part of your everyday life is so odd and sad. I mean, think about it - isn't it weird to just expect crime to be an aspect of your daily life?

Any crime at all makes a place bad. Why on earth would anyone choose to live in a place where crime is expected and accepted?

I know many of you urbanites will respond - but there's crime everywhere, even in rural areas! Dur Dur Durrr. It's a matter of what is EXPECTED AND ACCEPTED that bothers me.