Reported crimes at the University of Minnesota increased 9 percent in 2015, but officials say the long term trends suggest that campus is much safe now than it was 20 years ago.
University police responded to 546 significant crimes in 2015, up from 503 in 2014 and 485 in 2013. The majority of these significant crimes are reports of thefts, but there are also a handful of reported aggravated assaults, rapes and robberies. Despite the two-year increase in significant crimes, campus is much safer than in decades past. The worst year for crime came in 1989, when police responded to 2,082 reports of a significant crime.
“We’re really on this continuous downward slide over the last two decades,” said Matt Clark, chief of the university police department.
Crime on the Minneapolis campus accounts for just 0.3 percent of crime in the city. Neighborhoods surrounding the campus contribute 4.5 percent, suggesting that overall, the university is a very safe area of the city.
“It’s a safe campus to get a great education and a good student experience,” said Clark.
Making Campus Safer
The university took some big steps to make the area safer after a string of robberies in 2013. Since then, the university has spent more than $4 million on equipment like increased light fixtures, surveillance cameras and improving building security.
“We had challenges a few years ago around campus safety, and I think our response to that has turned a corner,” said Eric Kaler, president of the university.
The university wants to continue its efforts to provide a safe campus for its students and the surrounding community, and they have more safety enhancements planned for the near future. Kaler said the university plans to upgrade their surveillance cameras so they can capture clearer images, and they want to re-evaluate room access in connected buildings so thieves can’t easily access “closed” buildings.
