Violent crime and property crime have decreased in Cedar-Riverside in recent months. At the same time, officials are discussing a recent uptick in auto thefts in Marcy-Holmes.
Cedar-Riverside crime trends
Violent crimes in Cedar-Riverside have declined from August to September, according to Minneapolis Police Department crime statistics. From Aug. 1 to Aug. 23 the neighborhood saw 12 violent crimes — six aggravated assaults and six robberies. As of Sept. 23, one aggravated assault and one rape have been reported in the neighborhood.
Property crimes, including burglary, larceny, theft from motor vehicles, auto theft and arson have also gone down slightly in Cedar-Riverside. From Sept. 1 to Sept. 23, 2018, 35 total property crimes were reported compared to the 29 property crimes reported in the same time frame this year.
Marcy-Holmes crime trends
Auto theft has more than doubled in Marcy-Holmes compared to this time last year. The neighborhood saw auto thefts climb from six between Sept. 1 to Sept. 23, 2018, to 14 over the same time frame this year, according to the Minneapolis Police Department crime statistics.
Year-to-date numbers as of Sept. 23 also rose from 48 to 91 incidents from 2018 to 2019, marking a 90 percent increase.
Minneapolis Police Department 2nd Precinct Inspector Todd Loining said at a Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association safety meeting earlier this month that the department is currently patrolling the area looking out for moped thefts.
Notable Incidents
On Sept. 14 at 1:41 p.m., a University of Minnesota employee was approached in a parking lot off of 5th Street Southeast across from Ridder Arena by an unknown suspect, who became verbally aggressive with her while she was working, according to authorities.
The suspect was described as a white male of average height, in his mid-to-late thirties, and wearing a white polo with a maroon Nike swoosh and black shorts.
After multiple attempts at walking away, the man persisted in bothering the University employee. The suspect began to get upset as the employee would not assist him with his vehicle. After stating that his wife was having a medical emergency, the employee told him to call 911. The employee said the suspect struck her with an open left hand on the right side of her jaw.
The suspect’s wife came up to the employee and apologized on the suspect’s behalf before they left the area.
At 6 p.m. Sept. 14, University students received a Safe-U Advisory about a sexual misconduct incident that occurred at Washington Avenue SE and Harvard Street SE. Five suspects, ages 10 to 16 years old, slapped and pinched the victim on the behind.
“If something happens or there’s a concern, please call us right away. If there’s a delay in that, we are not able to catch those individuals,” said University of Minnesota Police Department Chief Matthew Clark in response to the incident.
