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September 30, 2024 (MINNEAPOLIS): After two consecutive violent weekends on 5th St and Hennepin Ave in downtown Minneapolis, police chief Brian O’Hara said a comprehensive plan to address curfew violators, an increased police presence, and better utilization of community groups resulted in no significant violent incidents downtown from Friday afternoon through early Monday morning.
From Friday afternoon through early Monday morning, in addition to the Downtown Late Night Safety Plan that has been in place for over a year, MPD enacted a curfew task force. This plan utilized a partnership between MPD investigators from the Juvenile Investigations Division, law enforcement partners including Metro Transit Police, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the MN State patrol, and 30 to 50 members from community groups which included 21 Days of Peace, TOUCH Outreach, A Mother’s Love, We Push for Peace, Change Equals Opportunity (CEO) , Metro Youth Diversion, Mad Dads, and the Youth Connection Center. In addition, the MPD Mounted Patrol was brought back on Friday night to enhance the Late-Night Safety Plan
Friday afternoon started with a community roll call in the outdoor rotunda of the downtown Hennepin County Library which included Chief O’Hara, MPD, Metro Transit PD, Hennepin County Sheriff ’s Office, Minneapolis Office of Violence Prevention, and the various community groups. At that roll call, expectations were provided, team leaders were identified, focus zones were discussed, and a communications plan was enacted. From there, the partner resources deployed throughout downtown.
Overall, 49 juveniles were contacted prior to curfew and all accepted available services or were connected with family members or guardians. Only one juvenile was contacted after curfew. They were connected with the Youth Connection Center and a reference was made for a diversion program. Over the weekend, the connections with juveniles prior to curfew declined each night with 24 occurring on Friday, 16 on Saturday, and 9 on Sunday.
After curfew hours were in effect and with the lack of juveniles out in public, the curfew task force resources assisted with other safety and enforcement efforts in and around downtown. In addition, the Juvenile Unit checked in with families of juveniles who have had recent, repeated police contacts to show support and ensure the safety those juveniles.
On Friday evening, Chief O’Hara talked publicly about the recent violence downtown. He pointed out that the Late-Night Safety Plan has been very effective at addressing issues that typically escalate to violence during overnight hours downtown. These efforts include interrupting adults coming downtown to participate in available entertainment who then retrieve weapons from a vehicle to settle disputes. Over the last two weekends, a different issue emerged with groups of juveniles fighting in the street which resulted in juveniles being killed or injured as the result of violent acts. The need to address this issue was urgent.
“I am pleased with the successful efforts to impact juvenile activity downtown after curfew,” said Chief O’Hara. “The combined effort of officers working with community members is the model of what is going to work moving forward. You can’t have successful community safety without the involvement of the community. This combined effort is also important because it seeks to address violent behaviors before they can turn violent.”
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9-30-2024 MPD Credits Curfew Operation, Enhanced Safety Plan and Key Partnerships for a Decrease in Downtown Violence this past Weekend.pdf
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