Public Safety
Reducing the rate of violent crime in Minnesota is important due to its significant impact on individuals, communities, and the overall well-being of society. Violent crime not only causes physical harm and emotional distress to victims but also, addressing the issue of violent crime is needed to foster a positive social environment, where trust, cooperation, and community engagement can flourish.
Reducing the number of violent crimes, means reducing the number of victims of violence in our state. We know that violence disproportionately affects our communities of color. In 2022, according to data reported to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Census Bureau, the rate of criminal offenses being perpetrated against Black Minnesotans is 9.5 times higher than the lowest rate, and American Indians and Pacific Islanders 5 times the lowest rate. The chart below shows the monthly rate per 100,000 residents for 2020-2023 and the most recent available year of crime victim data by race.
Goal: Minnesota communities are safe so all people can live and thrive.
Measurable goal for 2027: Reach the lowest rate of violent crime in Minnesota since 1985, which corresponds to a violent crime rate of 218 per 100,000 residents.
Source: Violent Crime Rate—Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), accessed through the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Crime Data Explorer Data. Crime Victim Data—Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Crime Data Explorer Data. Violent crime totals are calculated by adding together the number of aggravated assaults, homicides, rapes, and robberies. This comes from both the Crimes Against Persons Dashboard and the Crimes Against Property Dashboard.
Technical notes: Violent crime was defined as including the crimes against persons of murder & non-negligent manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, sodomy, and aggravated assault. It includes the property crimes of robbery. This data uses the National Incident Based Reporting System methodology which counts all crimes in a given incident, differing from historical crime data. Please note that the violent crime rate target is calculated annually and as such should not be considered a target for monthly data.