Twelve North Loop neighbors, all dressed in matching orange shirts, were out for a walk early on Sunday as part of a new safety drive when they came across an injured man. His head was bleeding. He didn’t speak.
Remembering the advice they had gotten from the Minneapolis police, the group asked him if they should call for help. He nodded. They stayed with him until the police arrived a few minutes later, then resumed their walk.
In the North Loop and other Minneapolis neighborhoods, residents are looking for ways to address the violence in the city. The North Loop Safety Club started with a few members in April and now has just under 70. Not all of their rides are as hectic as Sunday’s. Most of the time, the group hands out flyers, picks up litter and chats with passers-by.
The popular movement insists on going out and walking with the neighbors. Not only do they hope to deter crime, but also to encourage a spirit of community.
“We are not afraid. We feel responsible,” said Aileen Johnson, who has helped several clubs get organised. “We believe we have a civic responsibility to help.”
Loring Park and the Mill District have both started their own walking clubs this summer, and neighborhoods in East Hennepin are preparing to start their own groups.
Violent crime in Minneapolis has increased since the murder of George Floyd and is at its highest level in decades. Meanwhile, the city faces a legal battle over police personnel shortages — which will take years to resolve, said councilman Michael Rainville, whose Third Ward includes parts of the North Loop.
Public safety alternatives such as violence switches and resident-led efforts like walking clubs are crucial amid soaring crime, he said.
“We see the concept of policing changing before our eyes,” Rainville said. “We have to try everything.”
“America, we like to outsource everything,” said Patrick Dawson, a lead organizer at the North Loop security club. “And we may have outsourced our vigilance to the police, and suddenly there aren’t as many police anymore, so now we’re doing something small to increase that. And hopefully rebuild relationships that came out of a terrible event.”
Dizzying gunshots
After pandemic-related lows, North Loop violent crime began to rise again in 2021. Reports of shootings in the area are slightly above last year.
Violent crime in Loring Park has increased from 2020 and remains above average this year. Reported shootings in the neighborhood jumped 150% from pre-pandemic levels. The Downtown West neighborhood has seen a 25% increase in violent crime so far in 2022.
Rainville was instrumental in creating neighborhood watch groups and other public safety efforts. He was involved in a similar effort 25 years ago in northeast Minneapolis. He said there was a growing interest among residents to start walking clubs, which he adds restores trust in the police as well as deterring crime.
“[The walking club] works,” Rainville said. “The basis of public safety is that we know each other and have this friendship and this relationship.
Rainville recently sparked public outrage after blaming Somali American youth for a wave of July 4 violence. He has since apologized, but his comments have reverberated in a city working to ease racial tensions and rebuild trust between the community and law enforcement.
“Every time I go to one of these block meetings, it all comes down to a crime, whether it’s a car break-in, mugging, or shooting,” Rainville said. .
Empower residents
Johnson, who started the North Loop and Loring Park block clubs, said one of the goals was to help neighbors feel empowered.
“People felt a little helpless, that they couldn’t do anything,” she said. “The turnout was fantastic.”
The North Loop, a great entertainment district, is mostly a safe neighborhood. But the watch party’s presence adds an extra set of eyes, putting residents and visitors at ease, Dawson said. They walk in teams of around 12 people for two hours every weekend, carrying flashlights and phones in case they need to call for help.
During the group’s first weekend shift walking through the neighborhood, they saw a woman who looked distraught and hurt and called the police for help. These are rare occurrences, Dawson said.
The group, made up mainly of elderly people, also answers questions from the curious.
“We’re not exactly a physically deterrent group,” Dawson, 69, said. “But if you come into the community to do harm, know that there are more eyes on you than you think.”
Benefits of working together
Block club members are not violence interrupters, but they do check in weekly with the police department’s crime prevention specialist assigned to the area to find out what issues they need to watch out for, among other things. Block clubs also organize and attend public safety meetings every few weeks with the police department and elected officials.
Acting Police Chief Amelia Huffman said walking clubs are an important way to bond neighbors, who can then notify the MPD and the city of issues, such as graffiti and broken streetlights. .
“It creates more activity on the street, more eyes on the street,” she said.
Dawson, who sits on the board of the North Loop Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood club is independent of the neighborhood association, but its efforts are integrated into the organization’s larger plan for safety and the liveability of the neighborhood.
Johnson said any neighbor can start a walking club in their own community by contacting their neighborhood crime prevention specialist. Contact details are available on the city’s website.
Although the police department does not require groups to register, spokesman Garrett Parten said the MPD likes to know who is leading each group to help with organizing efforts.
Organizers provide club leaders with training ranging from crime prevention tips to lessons on running effective meetings and how to organize neighbors.
Interactive data journalist Jeff Hargarten contributed to this report.
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