U of M launches new safety committee that includes parents, faculty and students to address crime near campus
MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota announced a new public safety committee to address crime around campus, which has drawn concern from parents, students and those who live in nearby neighborhoods.
Joan Gabel, the university president, said the Strategic Safety Advisory Committee is the first of its kind at the school and will include those voices in addition to city and university law enforcement.
"Urgent and real safety concerns demand more collaboration than ever before to find effective, layered solutions. That can only be accomplished by bringing together a group like this one," Gabel said.
Community safety concerns reverberated at Minnesota Board of Regents meeting Wednesday, where the governing board for the school discussed future ideas to curb crime and the plans already in motion. University leaders doubled down on their promise to improve public safety and highlighted the new committee.
"To the greatest extent possible we want to enhance public safety in Minneapolis, neighborhoods near campus," Myron Frans, senior vice president of the University of Minnesota, told the board. "We want this committee to help advise us on that."
The Board of Regents meeting follows a Monday night community forum the University of Minnesota held in response to unease about safety near campus. Mark Clark, chief of the university police, told board members at last month's meeting that crime in off-campus neighborhoods increased by 45% since 2018.
Regents board member Steve Sviggum was at that Monday meeting and said he heard requests to expand the coverage area for the university's crime alert system. The university must comply with federal law known as the Clery Act and disclose crime statistics in certain areas.
"We're open to that discussion," Frans said, adding it's one of the first items the new committee will discuss.
Frans said the university police department plans to hire more officers through next year so they can eventually have five on patrol 24/7.
The goal is 71 police officers on staff by 2023, up from 61, and 10 community service officers, Frans said. University police officers have worked overtime to assist Minneapolis police with off-campus crime response as the department struggles with a depleted force, but Gabel warned that model is unsustainable and expensive.
Clark, the chief of university police, expressed concern about any plans for UMPD to do more off-campus. He said the university police are already busy enough with 20,000 calls a year and tens of thousands of people studying and working on campus in a school year.
"I just caution you on the idea that we're going to take over any part outside of this campus," Clark said. "We have enough work here and the liability is high."
Eoin O'Mahony, a rising senior, said he doesn't walk alone around Dinkytown anymore due to the rise in crime. His said friends have a bullet hole in their apartment from a recent shooting outside their building.
"My mom always wants me to text her when I get home because she's always worried at night that something will happen," he said. "I'd like to say I think I'll see change but I don't know how confident I am that something will actually happen."
Madison Thompson, Alexandra Hipple, Julian Helbing, and Yen Nguyen are all incoming freshmen on campus for orientation. They said they were aware of crime in the area and had already signed up for alerts.
They said the feel safe on campus, but off-campus is a concern.
"They have made it clear they know crime is a concern and they are helping us – I do feel safe on campus," Helbing said.
"On campus I feel pretty safe, but I would definitely be alert if I was off campus," Thompson added.