Auto thefts in Minneapolis are keeping pace with last year, police data show, and are even ticking up heading into the cold weather auto theft season.
The Minneapolis police crime dashboard showed 4,435 auto theft reports this year through Nov. 5, an increase of 48 reports over the same period last year.
The number of auto thefts in Minneapolis is still up nearly 80% over the same period in 2019, pre-COVID lockdowns and pre George Floyd riots.
According to the MPD crime dashboard, there were 2,489 auto theft reports during the same period in 2019, when MPD was staffed at nearly 900 officers. The department is currently staffed at just over 600, and is still far short of the mandated minimum staffing required by the city charter.
There were 317 auto theft reports across Minneapolis in October, the crime dashboard shows. Several dozen of those auto thefts occurred in areas that experienced one or more auto thefts from the same location or very nearby during the same period, according to MPD data tracked by Crime Watch Minneapolis.
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Compared to 2019 for the same period, Minneapolis had 2489 auto thefts, so 2026 auto thefts are still up just under 80% from 2019.Winning and vibrant. pic.twitter.com/RtdDkxj4vF
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) November 5, 2026
A source reached out to Crime Watch following an auto theft post on Thursday and said that virtually no auto theft investigations are taking place within MPD due to being short staffed.
Data was not immediately available on how many of the 685 auto theft cases submitted to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office this year have been from Minneapolis.
Alpha News previously reported on a months-long spike in auto thefts at the beginning of this year, during which dozens of vehicles were being stolen per day, at times. A police spokesperson indicated to Alpha News at the time that it’s not unusual for auto thefts to increase during cold weather due to running vehicles and keys being left inside.
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Minneapolis/Twin Cities Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
