MINNEAPOLIS — There is some positive news about crime coming out of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office: car thefts have seen a major decline.
The sheriff’s office responds to calls throughout Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis and its suburbs, with a population of 1.26 million.
The sheriff’s office tracks key county crime statistics. Violent crimes are up 5% so far this year compared to 2023, property crimes are down 6%, and auto thefts are down a robust 25%. Auto thefts are also down in Minneapolis so far this year, with 3,895 this year compared to 5,118 this time last year. Car theft The numbers in Minneapolis have remained the same.
Sheriff Dawanna Witt has been in office for a little over a year and a half now. She was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30
“We’ve set up a new auto theft team that’s proactive and not only prevents auto thefts, but also recovers vehicles so people aren’t without their property for extended periods of time,” Witt said. “We know how hard that can be on families, jobs when people don’t have their vehicle, not to mention the insurance costs.”
Witt says it’s been a tough year for local law enforcement. In February, there was the fatal shooting of two Burnsville police officersPaul Elmstrand and Mathew Ruge. Firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth was also shot and killed in that incident.
In May, Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell was fatally shot. The month before, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Heihn shot in the arm while serving an arrest warrant. He survived and was released from the hospital the next day.
According to Witt, these attacks on law enforcement officers have doubled since 2017 and the sheriff believes they simply need to stop.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6:00am and 10:30am
