To Stem Gun Violence, Harteau Puts More Officers In North Mpls.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The sound of gunfire has taken over parts of north Minneapolis.
"There seems to be a comfort level of gang members and other perpetrators who are armed with guns, who are resolving conflicts with weapons, posting things on Facebook, producing very elaborate YouTube videos, making threats," Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said. "It's really inciting a lot of violence across the Twin Cities."
The gun violence is so bad that Minneapolis police are making changes to deal with the growing problem.
"For us to really appropriately respond, what I've done is re-adjusted resources and, frankly, moved folks from the rest of the city into the Fourth Precinct, where we've had some incredible increases in violent crime," Harteau said.
The chief says that now one patrol car -- or two officers from each police precinct -- will patrol the streets of north Minneapolis.
"What you will see is at least 20 to 30 officers on patrol in designated hot spots, where the shots are occurring, where the shootings are occurring, to really have a visible presence, to make people feel safe and, frankly, to actively stop those we know are actively involved in gun violence," Harteau said.
The chief says increased visibility of officers is helping.
During the week of April 14-17, there were 24 shots fired calls into 911 in the 4th Precinct. The following week, after more officers were put on the streets, there were six shots fired calls -- that's a 75 percent decrease.
In that same time frame, ShotSpotter technology tracked 41 gunshots from April 14-17. The next week, there were 21 gunshots detected -- a drop of 49 percent.
"This isn't just a north Minneapolis issue, this isn't just a police issue," Harteau said. "This is a societal issue, and we have to stop the gun violence."
The increase in officers also led to a decrease in the number of gunshot victims in north Minneapolis. From April 14-17, there were eight reported victims. From April 21-24, there were five.
Harteau says police cannot arrest their way out of this problem, nor do they want to. She hopes neighbors will get involved and help police flush out the guns and get to young people before they use them.
Harteau says she will re-evaluate daily the department's tactics in countering gun violence.
If she sees the problem pop up in other parts of the city, she will move officers there to deal with the issue.
