Violent Crime Decline in Minnesota: 5 Things You Should Know

Violent crime in Minnesota fell for the second year in a row in 2023, but overall is still above pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

This is largely because law enforcement is still responding to more serious assaults than before 2020, despite reports that murder rates have stagnated and rapes and robberies have steadily declined.

Violent crime fell 8.2% in the seven-county metropolitan area, while violent crime in Minnesota outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area fell 3.4%.

Law enforcement classifies murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault as violent crimes, while burglary, theft, auto theft and arson are considered property crimes. Minnesota law enforcement reported a 13.1% decline in property crime in 2023, slipping further below pre-pandemic levels.

Here are five things you should know about the latest national and regional crime figures:

Minnesota law enforcement agencies investigated 181 murders in 2023, one fewer than in 2022. The murder rate remains higher than in 2019, when the BCA reported 117, and has fluctuated between 181 and 201 in the years since.

Serious assault incidents remain well above pre-pandemic levels. Authorities reported 6,742 such incidents in 2019, a number that skyrocketed in 2020 and peaked at 10,967 in 2021 before declining slightly in 2022. Minnesota reported 9,986 assault incidents in 2023.