Minneapolis working on plan to combat crime around University of Minnesota this summer
MINNEAPOLIS – As the weather warms up, police are using a proactive approach to deal with crime in and around the University of Minnesota.
For the past six months, law enforcement and parent groups have been working side by side to deal with the surge in crimes committed mostly by teenagers.
University of Minnesota police and Minneapolis police, working with a group of concerned parents, are putting together strategies to fight crime in and around its Minneapolis campus.
Police say the surge of violent acts near Dinkytown and the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood are committed by minors.
"Some we're recognizing to be as early as 11 and 12 years old who are committing a variety of different crimes throughout the city, but also around the university community. And they certainly do become repeat offenders," said Office of Community Safety Commissioner Cedric Alexander.
Alexander says this group is being proactive. They know warmer weather is coming, and rising crime comes with that.
He says addressing the big problem of youth crime goes beyond just arresting offenders.
"I truly believe in the future, in the very near future, other social service resources that are going to have to be set up to help these families cope with these children who are showing this type of behavior," he said.
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Alexander agrees with concerned parents that these young offenders don't see consequences for their actions.
"Minnesota does not have the correct juvenile criminal facilities for rehabilitation, so we've got a strategy in place in Minnesota to rehabilitate instead of incarcerate, but we have nowhere to rehabilitate for them to go," said Brian Peck with the Campus Safety Coalition.
Peck supports the commissioner, but also wants to see the system revamped.
"It is a Minnesota social issue that we need to get these rehabilitation facilities in place. So we need our legislators to put this front and center on their list of priorities, otherwise we're never gonna get anywhere, and we will not see any improvement," Peck said.
For now, the Campus Safety Coalition will continue to walk the streets of Dinkytown with police. They will arm students with knowledge on how to keep themselves from being a victim, while they work on teen intervention and needed rehabilitation.
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