Summary: Minneapolis is a special place to live, work, and call home—and as neighbors we’re working together on various fronts to increase public safety. As one measure, we ask fellow residents of Lowry Hill to help pay for additional police patrols in the neighborhood by MPD officers who would otherwise be off duty. Neighbors have been funding these “buyback patrols” since February 2022. The Minneapolis City Council has approved an extension of the existing Lowry Hill buyback patrol program through December 2023, so we are now seeking funds to pay for the 2023 patrols. You can make a contribution via the link here. The suggested contribution is $150/month per household. We welcome whatever amount you can contribute. (Contributions are not tax deductible.) As detailed below, you can turn off your recurring contributions at any time.

Sections of detailed info:

1. We are concerned about crime in our neighborhood and across the city.

2. Minneapolis has fewer police officers than the City Charter requires.

3. As city residents work to reduce crime and support hiring more officers, one part of the solution is the Minneapolis Police Department’s “buyback” program.

4. Since February 2022, neighbors have been funding buyback patrols by MPD officers in Lowry Hill.

5. Please consider making a recurring monthly contribution to pay for 2023 buyback patrols via the website here. The suggested contribution is $150/month per household, which you can discontinue at any time.

6. Other measures you can take to increase safety.

7. Neighborhood crime trends in 2022.

(1) We are concerned about crime in our neighborhood and across the city. As the Star Tribune’s headline on January 7, 2023 put it, “Violent crime declined in Minneapolis last year [2022], but rates still well above norm[.]” Trends in the 5th Precinct (which encompasses Lowry Hill and the southwest quadrant of the city) are mixed. Most types of crimes occurred more frequently in 2022 than they did on average each year from 2019 through 2021. Comparing 2022 to 2021, incidents of some types of crimes declined while others increased. Selected crimes in the 5th Precinct:

Source: City of Minneapolis Crime dashboard: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/government-data/datasource/crime-dashboard/  Note drop-down menu in upper left corner to pick Precinct-level or citywide data. The dashboard has data on other categories of crime. *“Carjacking tracking began September 2020. This affects the average calculation.”

(2)  Minneapolis currently has fewer police officers than the City Charter requires. As the MinnPost publication wrote on October 27, 2022,

“Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 by then-police officer Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis Police Department saw an exodus of officers from its ranks due to resignations, retirements and disability leaves. More than two years later, the department remains more than one hundred officers short of its authorized strength. . . . Minneapolis’ city charter requires 1.7 officers per thousand residents, a ratio that hasn’t changed since 1961. Based on the city’s current population, the charter requires 731 officers[.] . . . Minneapolis is far from its statutory requirement: MPD’s staffing woes have been in the spotlight since Floyd’s murder more than two years ago due to the department’s sudden decrease in officers coinciding with a surge in crime citywide. The department sits at 602 sworn officers, including 37 on a continuous leave of nearly two weeks or more, which is down hundreds from more than 900 officers in May 2020.”

Just as with the crime data, though, there are some signs of progress in rebuilding MPD. As Minnesota Public Radio News reported on October 3, 2022,

“A group of north Minneapolis residents and city officials [] agreed to dismiss a 2020 lawsuit over police staffing. . . . The group dropped the lawsuit because they believe the city is moving in the right direction, said [their] attorney[.] ‘We believe that with the good faith of all parties, that they'll be able to meet those numbers. Now that'll take time. Obviously they're not going to hire 300 police officers overnight,’ [he] said. In a statement, [Mayor] Frey said he's been pushing to rebuild the MPD ranks, and notes the most recent police contract includes a $7,000 retention bonus.”

(3) As city residents work to reduce crime and support hiring more officers, one part of the solution is the Minneapolis Police Department’s “buyback” program. Under an official city program called “buyback,” entities can pay the City of Minneapolis to deploy MPD officers for shifts that the officers volunteer for in their free time. Over the years, various Minneapolis neighborhoods have used buyback to deploy additional MPD officers when they are available. Officers working a buyback shift patrol in MPD vehicles, respond to 911 calls, and deter criminals—just as they do in a normal shift. MPD uses its professional judgment to deploy officers at times and places to have maximum impact. Officers working buyback patrols would not otherwise have been on duty, and the shifts do not take any capacity away from patrols in other neighborhoods. For an officer to perform a buyback shift, all three of the following things must be true: (1) the officers must be below his/her overtime cap; (2) the officer must not be deployed to another MPD priority, and (3) the officer must choose to work the buyback shift.

(4)  Since February 2022, neighbors have been funding buyback patrols by MPD officers in Lowry Hill. A group of resident volunteers created the Minneapolis Safety Initiative (MSI), a non-profit entity that operates in accordance with section 501(c)(4) of federal tax law. MSI receives non-tax-deductible contributions from neighbors and uses those funds to pay invoices from City Hall for the additional MPD police patrols. From February 7, 2022 to December 31, 2022, Lowry Hill neighborhood residents funded 1,923.75 additional hours of MPD patrol that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise. The buyback program benefits the entire Lowry Hill neighborhood and nearby areas—as officers go out of Lowry Hill to assist in 911 response. Officers say they appreciate the support the community is showing them by enabling additional shifts and by offering smiles, waves, friendly conversations, and information to promote safety. That communication and cooperation between MPD and residents helps build relationships and attract & retain offers to MPD. Given all of the variables that drive crime, it’s impossible to determine the effect of buyback patrols definitively—but we’re glad the MPD officers are performing additional patrols, we believe those patrols benefit the entire community, and the overwhelming majority of 2022 participants voiced their support for continuing the program in 2023. We hope you’ll join us.

(5) Please consider making a recurring monthly contribution to pay for 2023 buyback patrols via the website here. The suggested contribution is $150/month per household, which you can discontinue at any time. Based on the support of neighbors, City Council, and MPD, the Minneapolis Safety Initiative has entered a new contract with the City of Minneapolis for continued buyback patrol services in 2023. Please consider supporting the 2023 buyback patrols with a financial contribution via the website here. Please contribute what you can. The suggested contribution is $150/month but we will gladly accept more or less depending on your budget. One hour of buyback patrol in 2023 costs $112. $112 per hour of buyback patrol x target of 200 hours of buyback patrol per month x 12 months = $268,800, which is the maximum expenditure the 2023 contract allows. Actual shifts worked will depend on funds raised and officer availability.All people working on this initiative are volunteers. Other than fees for payment processing and website hosting, all contributions will go directly to paying for MPD buyback officer patrols. Contributions to 501(c)(4) entities—such as the Minneapolis Safety Initiative entity that has the buyback contract with the City of Minneapolis—are not tax deductible. You can turn off your recurring contribution at any time by emailing mplssafetydonate@gmail.com. MSI will automatically stop collecting funds once we’ve reached that contract limit of $268,800. Supporters receive monthly updates on additional patrol shifts purchased and safety outcomes.

(6)  Other measures you can take to increase safety:

a.     If you see something, say something.  If you see suspicious behavior, call 911 and report it. Trust your gut: if the situation feels weird, it's weird. Call 911 and ask for an officer to check it out. 911 dispatch and MPD will decide how best to handle the situation. There is no scenario in which you “get in trouble” for calling 911 to report a situation that you think is suspicious based on a person’s behavior. 

b.     Establish a text string with your neighbors. Go door to door, collect cell phone numbers, and start a text string to share information on an ongoing basis. 

c.     When outside or in your car, stay off your phone. Criminals are looking for distracted victims, so stay aware of your surroundings, don't use earbuds or headphones, and stay off your phone. 

d.     Exterior lighting. Ensure that your exterior spaces are illuminated – porch, yard, driveway, and sidewalk. If a streetlight is out, report it to 311 right away to be repaired. Don’t assume your neighbors have already done so.

e.     Whistle. Buy a whistle, bring it with you when you go outside, and if you encounter trouble, blow on it repeatedly. For the rest of us, if we hear a repeated whistle, call 911 and consider going to the source to assist.  Whistles on Amazon at this link.

f.      Addressing root causes: There's important work to do to address the root causes of crime in our city. As just one way to help address root causes, we encourage you to learn more about initiatives such as the Northside Achievement Zone and its anchor partners and consider supporting them. Simultaneously, the neighbors leading this initiative are working on various fronts to push for increased deployment of law enforcement officers in all city neighborhoods.

(7) Neighborhood crime trends in 2022: 

a.     Notes: Buyback patrols started in Lowry Hill on February 7, 2022. “Lowry Hill East” (aka the Wedge) is the neighborhood bounded by Hennepin, Lake, and Lyndale Avenues. Lowry Hill East does not overlap at all with the Lowry Hill neighborhood.

Source of raw data: https://opendata.minneapolismn.gov/datasets/cityoflakes::crime-data/about

Chart generated by MSI.

Source: https://opendata.minneapolismn.gov/datasets/cityoflakes::crime-data/about

Chart generated by MSI.