Minneapolis Police Declare Downtown 'Safe'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The message from police in Minneapolis is clear -- downtown is safe.
Officers from Minneapolis joined forces Wednesday with the Hennepin County Sheriff's office and Metro Transit police to continue their "SafeZone" collaboration.
It started almost 10 years ago as a way to ensure downtown was a safe place for folks to visit, work and live.
"The perception of downtown was it wasn't safe, and now we have both perception and reality are the same," Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau said. "Downtown is a great, safe, vital place to be."
The SafeZone project increases patrols in the downtown area over the summer, which is the busiest part of the year in Minneapolis.
Citizens will see extra patrols on the streets, as well as on buses and trains.