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Minneapolis' newest plan to combat crime in Uptown
Minneapolis leaders, including Mayor Jacob Frey and City Council Member Elizabeth Shaffer, announced the expansion of the Community Safety Ambassador program to the Uptown neighborhood.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The City of Minneapolis is taking steps to improve safety in the Uptown neighborhood, including expanding the community safety ambassador program to the area.
Safety ambassadors coming to Uptown
Local perspective:
Council Members Aisha Chughtai and Elizabeth Shaffer announced last week the community safety ambassador would be coming to the Uptown area starting in November.
Shaffer said the November date was because that's how long it would take to plan, hire, and train the staff.
Big picture view:
Along with the ambassador program, the city says it is taking a "multi-layered" approach to combat crime in the neighborhood. In December, the Minneapolis Police Department increased patrol in the area. At the same time, the city is also working to increase investments in the area.
The backstory:
The City of Minneapolis launched a $3 million community safety ambassador pilot program last year.
That program focused on the East Lake Street and East Franklin Avenue corridors.
Funding for the Uptown program had actually been in the works since 2024 but has taken until now to get implemented. Speaking on Tuesday, officials explained they had to do the research first, and it wasn't possible to launch all the pilot programs at once. They chose to start with the East Lake and Franklin corridors first because they had the most need.
What do they do?
Dig deeper:
Reports posted to the city's website show the ambassadors have been involved in zero crisis invention responses since the program's launch last June and only a couple dozen safety and wellness actions.
According to the reports, the overwhelming majority of the safety ambassadors' activities are checking on businesses.
What they're saying:
Speaking on Tuesday, city officials said residents have consistently raised concerns about the impact of drugs in Uptown.
"Shortly after taking office in January, a constituent told me she had to stop bringing her young child to the Walker Library," said Council Member Shaffer. "She and her child had to navigate through groups of people openly using drugs on the street. As a mother, this broke my heart."
However, in recent weeks, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara says they've seen a dramatic reduction in open-air drug activity in Uptown thanks to target patrols.
"In April, complaints related to narcotics activity in Uptown have decreased dramatically," the chief said. "We're also seeing fewer repeat individuals driving disorder. That tells us that these strategies, this collective work for residents, business owners and all of our partners is having an impact. But we are clear-eyed and realistic about the challenges that remain. We are aware that some of this activity has been displaced, like unwanted person and suspicious behavior. Those issues remain elevated. That means our work is not done, and we will continue to modify and adjust every day our strategies based upon the needs identified by our community."