ST. PAUL, Minn. - New numbers shared by Minnesota's top cops paint a mixed picture on crime in communities across the state.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) on Thursday released its Uniform Crime Report for 2016. The numbers are a compilation of statistics shared by police and sheriff's departments from border to border, which are then shared with the FBI.
Overall, violent crime was up nearly one percent, with the number of murders dropping 23 percent when compared to 2015. Rapes and aggravated assaults were both up slightly from the previous year, while robberies were slightly down.
2016 violent crime statistics
Murder: 100
Rape: 2,321
Robbery: 3,725
Aggravated assault: 7,026
Human trafficking – commercial sex acts: 235
Human trafficking – involuntary servitude: 0
Reports of Human Trafficking – Commercial Sex Acts jumped significantly in 2016. This, in part, reflects cases reported in which a real victim does not exist but rather the arrest is the result of proactive sting operations by law enforcement posing as a person under the age of 18. Human trafficking -- involuntary servitude refers to offenses where a person is obtained through recruitment or harboring, then forced or coerced into involuntary servitude, debt or slavery.
2016 Property Crime Statistics
Property crimes saw declining numbers in 2016, down 3.7 percent compared to 2015. Burglaries dropped for the fifth consecutive year, down 3.8 percent in 2016. Arson numbers also continue their downward trend, down 14.3 percent in 2016. On the less positive side, motor vehicle thefts spiked significantly.
Burglary: 18,464
Larceny: 89,924
Motor vehicle theft: 8,649
Arson: 497
Additional crime data reported to the BCA
Criminal homicide cleared by arrest -- 74 percent
Drug abuse violation cleared by arrest -- 85 percent
Law enforcement pursuits resulting in fatality -- 8
Law enforcement pursuits terminated by officer/supervisor -- 15 percent
Bias motivated crimes -- 122
There were no law enforcement officer fatalities in 2016.
The complete 2016 report can be viewed on the BCA Website. Additional years’ reports can be found on the same page.
