Violent crime dropped by 8.6 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, according to an annual report released Monday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Violent crime decreased by 6.9 percent in the seven-county metro area and 12.9 percent in Greater Minnesota, the report says.
There were 182 murders in 2022, a 9.5 percent decrease from the record 201 homicides recorded in 2021 but still significantly higher than the 117 murders in 2019.
Aggravated assaults dropped by 5.7 percent from 10,967 in 2021 to 10,342 in 2022. There were 6,742 aggravated assaults in 2019.
Rapes decreased from 2,472 in 2021 to 2,329 in 2022. According to the BCA, nearly half of the victims were minors and more than 70 percent of rapes occurred in a home.
Motor vehicle thefts increased by 12.9 percent from 14,829 in 2021 to 16,743 in 2022. The BCA said the 2022 total is the highest level of motor vehicle thefts since 2001.
Carjackings, which are not counted as motor vehicle thefts, dropped from 779 incidents in 2021 (the first year data was collected on carjackings) to 598 incidents in 2022.
Bias crimes and police use-of-force incidents both decreased. There were 21 use-of-force incidents in 2022, down from 30 in 2021. According to the BCA, these incidents resulted in nine deaths and 10 serious injuries. White Minnesotans were involved in three times as many use-of-force incidents as black Minnesotans, the BCA data shows.
Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said Minnesotans should not “get too comfy, too fast with a one-year decrease in violent crime.”
“Just this year, police reports have revealed car thefts more than doubled in the city of Minneapolis. The report shows aggravated assaults increased by 55%, car theft by 66% and murders by 75% since 2018,” he said.
“Many judges and prosecutors are not holding criminals accountable for the crimes they have committed against our innocent citizens. Additionally, recent legislative changes did nothing to help our law enforcement with their efforts to keep citizens safe. Rather than give law enforcement the tools and support they need to do their jobs, Democrats passed a ‘Get out of Jail Free’ public safety bill that puts more criminals back on the street with a shorter prison time.”
The full uniform crime report can be viewed here.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
