Minneapolis data details cost of homeless encampment closures
Mpls data breaks down homeless encampment closures
New data released by Minneapolis city officials shows the public response to homeless encampments and the cost of clearing them.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - New data shows Minneapolis closed 17 homeless encampments in the second half of 2024.
Officials say several other small encampments were shut down this year as neighbors worry about safety and livability issues in the surrounding areas.
A full encampment response report can be viewed here.
Minneapolis homeless encampment closures
Minneapolis meeting addresses homelessness
A Minneapolis town hall was held on Thursday to discuss the safety of homeless people and violence occurring at homeless encampments.
What we know:
According to data released by the City of Minneapolis, crews closed 17 homeless encampments in the second half of 2024.
Several other smaller homeless gathering spaces have been shut down already in 2025. City statistics show 227 unsheltered residents were impacted by the 2024 closures. Those closures were spread over several city wards with a high of six encampments in Ward 6. In closing the 17 encampments, city officials said they offered 169 individuals shelter or other housing options before the closures, but only nine people accepted.
"Homelessness, it is a ubiquitous problem. It is not only a Minneapolis problem. We are seeing it exacerbated across the country," explained Minneapolis Regulatory Services Director Enrique Velazquez, whose department is now required to provide up-to-date data to the city council on how agencies are addressing homelessness and any actions taken to close encampments. "So, it is an opportunity to kind of keep a finger on the pulse, if you will, of what is happening in Minneapolis with respect to homelessness and how we are utilizing our resources to address unsheltered homelessness."
READ MORE: Minneapolis leaders hold town hall meeting on homeless issues
The new data includes total costs the city incurred shutting down homeless encampments. In the second half of 2024, Minneapolis spent $332,620 closing 17 encampments across the city. Nearly $270,000, or 81%, went to police costs, and another $54,600 went to the Public Works Department.
The city does not allow for encampments by ordinance, but that does not mean they are immediately cleared out.
In fact, Minneapolis is currently monitoring 23 active encampments totaling approximately 51 unsheltered people. Though Velazquez said only one encampment currently has more than 10 residents.
City officials explain response
What they're saying:
"It is not just looking at one encampment by itself," Velazquez stated. "It is looking at the entire system of encampments plus shelter availability and what we can do resource wise, because we have a lot of resources. We need plenty of resources to be able to move forward with closing a single encampment and then figuring out what happens afterwards."
Neighbors of some of the homeless encampments have raised serious public safety and livability issues around these gathering spots. Fires and crime, including drug use and prostitution, have also been cited as significant problems and concerns.
READ MORE: Encampment violence puts spotlight on Minneapolis homeless approach
The city evaluates four risk factors before moving to close an encampment – public health, public and life safety, community livability and external or "environmental" impacts.
"It is not so much about the number of people at any moment, though, we do know that depending on the size of the lot, the lot can only accommodate so many people," Velazquez said. "So, the more people you have, it is kind of like friction. That becomes an equation where the more people you have, the more friction, the more tension, the more the heat rises, temperatures flare. Things are going to happen when you have a great concentration of people in a small spot."
By the numbers:
According to city data, the average duration of an encampment was 50 days. Eleven encampments sprung up on sites that were previously shut down by city crews. Minneapolis also reports that trouble calls to the city were reduced significantly after an encampment was cleared out, with 311 calls down 83% and 911 calls down 76%.
READ MORE: Minneapolis: Call 311 instead of 911 to report property damage, theft
What's next:
Velazquez will formally present the Encampment Closure Report to the city council’s Business, Housing & Zoning Committee at a public hearing on Thursday morning.