Starting this week, the University of Minnesota Police Department will take the lead in responding to all 911 calls near its Twin Cities-East Bank campus as part of a new aid agreement with Minneapolis police.
UMPD’s jurisdiction has historically been limited to property owned or leased by the college, though its officers frequently assist other departments investigating crimes reported in the areas surrounding campuses that span three cities. Responding to a staffing shortage in the Minneapolis Police Department, UMPD will be responsible for all emergency calls in a busy swath of Dinkytown, a Minneapolis area occupied by mostly students, per the new agreement that went into effect Monday.
In a Board of Regents meeting earlier this month, UMPD Chief Matt Clark said Minneapolis police have had “limited capacity” to respond to 911 calls in recent years, “and many of our campus community folks are waiting a long time to get a response from MPD based on historic low [staffing] numbers.”
Clark said UMPD is also stretched thin on staffing, but the department felt a responsibility to help fill the need near campus.
UMPD will respond to all calls in an area covering University Ave to 4th Street SE, and 35-W to Oak Street SE, said university spokesman Jake Ricker.
Last year, UMPD responded to more than 20,000 calls — 10% off campus — Clark told the Regents this month. He said the department employs 58 officers, 15 short of being fully staffed, and they’ve been working overtime to step up patrols at night and on weekends near campus.
At the same time, violent crime in Dinkytown has dropped about 60% since 2021, Clark said.
The Marcy Holmes neighborhood, which includes Dinkytown, as a whole saw violent crime increase by 50% in 2021 compared to 2019, tracking with a citywide trend of rising violent crime beginning in 2020, according to Minneapolis police data.
Star Tribune data reporter Jeff Hargarten contributed to this story.
Andy Mannix
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