Minnesota's violent crime went down in 2022, but not significantly, new BCA report finds

Violent crime in Minnesota declined overall last year but was still higher than it was before the pandemic, according to a new report from the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Minnesota saw an 8.6% decrease in violent crime in 2022 compared with 2021, the BCA's 2022 Uniform Crime Report shows. The category includes murder, aggravated assault, robbery and rape. The report uses crime data submitted by local law enforcement agencies.

"This doesn't relieve anybody of much concern, because I think the crime rates are still higher than anybody is comfortable with," said Jeff Potts, executive director of the nonprofit Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association.

Murders statewide dropped from the record of 201, set in 2021, to 182 in 2022. That's compared to 117 killings reported by the BCA in 2019, and 104 in 2018.

The report shows that violent crime decreased less in the seven-county Twin Cities metro (down about 7%) and more in the counties outside the metro (down 13%).

Robberies in particular dropped significantly, with 3,266 in 2022, down 725 from 2021. But aside from reported rapes — which were lower than pre-pandemic — the major violent crime categories were still elevated compared with 2019.

Reports of bias-motivated crimes decreased noticeably in 2022, dropping from 238 to 168 in the last year. That comes after a slight increase of bias crimes in 2021.

Christopher Uggen, professor of sociology and law at the University of Minnesota, said the report shows Minnesota undergoing a more gradual "cooling stove" effect, rather than "turning off a light switch" in crime reduction following the spike in 2020 and 2021.

"I think it's reassuring in the sense that things aren't escalating or increasing since that huge jump in 2020, because I do think there's some concern of, 'Are we moving into a new normal with higher rates of violence?' "

U Associate Sociology Prof. Michelle Phelps said it was expected to take time for society to adjust following the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest following the murder of George Floyd, and that it makes sense crime rates would follow a similar pattern.

"As we see restrictions ease up, people are impacted less by school closures and economic consequences, and we're seeing a tight labor market. … As all of that winds back, we would expect it to take a while to get to pre-2019," Phelps said.

The report parallels recent data showing Minneapolis experiencing a decrease in violent crime this year.

State Sen. Warren Limmer of Maple Grove, the lead Republican on the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, was more hesitant about the shorter-term improvement.

"Let's not get too comfy too fast with a one-year decrease in violent crime," Limmer said.

In the statement, Limmer criticized recent changes backed by DFL lawmakers, saying they are making it harder for law enforcement to do its jobs going forward.

Along with higher numbers of violent crime compared to 2019, Limmer and Potts were concerned about the increase in car thefts in the report.

Since recording roughly 10,000 car thefts in 2018, the state has seen a steady yearly increase, with a high of 16,750 in 2022, according to the report.

"It's about a 40 percent increase from 2019 … so there's still significant crime issues," said Potts, of the police chiefs association.

Carjackings, included as a subset of robberies in the report, decreased by 23%, to 598 reported incidents in 2022 from 778 in 2021, the first year the BCA collected that data.

Other property crimes including burglary, larceny and arson were down in 2022.

While Uggen recognizes the crime stats are concerning when compared to 2019, he said the report and the one-year decline in violent crime is generally good news.

"That's really what we want to do in particular; to make sure this doesn't become a new normal," he said.