MPD Says Super Bowl Arrest Numbers Lower Than Expected
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis Police say they were extremely busy during the 10 day build up to the Super Bowl.
More than 3,000 officers from 60 different law enforcement agencies worked the areas in and around Super Bowl events.
Minneapolis Police believe the heavy presence of police, military and Minnesota residents helped them keep the peace.
"You plan for the worst, the absolute worst and you hope for the best," MPD's John Elder said.
It took three years of planning and help from law enforcement and community partners for Minneapolis Police to pull off an incident-free Super Bowl experience.
"Really thankful to our law enforcement partners, both on the municipal and state, regional and federal level," Elder said.
Elder says the department went into this event with one goal in mind: to provide a festive and welcoming atmosphere while ensuring public safety.
From Jan. 26 until the end of the big game, Elder says the number of people arrested was less than expected.
"We had 75 arrest in our 1st Precinct, which encompasses the downtown area. A year ago, in 2017, those exact same dates we had 42 additional arrests over the 75. So our arrests were down," Elder said.
A check of the Hennepin County Jail roster shows people from 16 different states were arrested for offenses ranging from fraudulent ticket sales to disorderly conduct.
"There's a lot of people around so people know that they would have been probably witnessed doing something," Elder said. "And the fact that we had so much law enforcement and military personnel around, I think it made people think twice before choosing to do something inappropriate."
Sex traffickers were targets of officers on patrol.
"We were able to effect a good number of arrests and rescue some people that in fact were being trafficked," Elder said.
The only crime MPD saw an uptick in during Super Bowl festivities was stolen vehicles. People leaving their cars running to warm up were the targets.