University of Minnesota students will see more police officers and new citizen safety ambassadors patrolling near campus this fall as the school seeks to reduce crime in the area.
U leaders outlined their latest public safety efforts, which include increased surveillance and neighborhood infrastructure improvements, to the Board of Regents on Friday. The safety focus comes as thousands of students have returned and follows a year in which crime near campus rose to its highest point in a decade, despite less foot traffic amid the pandemic.
"Safety on campus has actually been stable, but our city and our surrounding neighborhoods are not immune to the public safety challenges and trends that are occurring here and in metros all over the country," U President Joan Gabel said. "We're continuing to invest significant resources into this critical effort."
The University of Minnesota Police Department has hired three new officers and is paying its force overtime to patrol the Dinkytown neighborhood, which has been the center of the campus-area crime spike. Hennepin County sheriff's deputies and Minneapolis police are also helping patrol.
A Hennepin County social worker will embed in the area, too, as will a new community liaison the U hired.
Starting next week, the citizen safety ambassadors will begin patrolling Dinkytown on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, U Police Chief Matthew Clark said. They will report suspicious activity to law enforcement, remove graffiti, pick up garbage and provide escorts or directions to those who seek them.
"Not only will they be a long-term solution and a long-term resource to the Dinkytown residents, but also to our campus community," Clark said.
The U is working with Minneapolis and Xcel Energy to add more street lighting in key areas. And the university is installing eight emergency phone boxes along the perimeter of campus and in Dinkytown, Clark said. The phone boxes, which have security cameras, connect students to campus police.
