MINNEAPOLIS — The latest chaotic evening in Dinkytown over the Fourth of July holiday has renewed conversations about safety near the University of Minnesota campus, where crime concerns have been prevalent for several years now.
Richard Painter, a U of M law professor and director with the nonprofit Campus Safety Coalition, said these issues have persisted "both during the school year and over the summer."
"It's very important for the community to buy into campus safety initiatives, and for safety initiatives in Dinkytown," Painter said. "Interim President Ettinger made a lot of headway in this area during his year in charge and I would expect [new president] Rebecca Cunningham to do the same."
Painter called for bolstered University of Minnesota Police staffing, increased cooperation between UMPD and Minneapolis Police, more vibrancy in the business community and stiffer prosecution by the Hennepin County District Attorney.
"I am optimistic," Painter said, "about the potential for good leadership from our new university leadership under Rebecca Cunningham."
Some of those safety efforts are already underway.
For example, in late March, UMPD began responding to 911 calls in neighborhoods off-campus to assist MPD with their workload. Last month, UMPD Chief Matt Clark told the Board of Regents that his officers had responded to 172 emergency calls in this expanded patrol zone between late March and mid-June.
UMPD has also increased its police staffing by 35 percent since 2022, according to Clark. The force now has 62 officers out of an authorized strength of 73.
Meanwhile, plans are moving forward for a new "Safety Center" in Dinkytown, which KARE 11 first reported about last March.
At the Board of Regents meeting last month, Chief Clark confirmed that the university has signed a lease to open the center this September at 315 Fourth Avenue Southeast in the Saint Anthony Main neighborhood, about a mile or so from campus.
The center will include resources for both students and community groups.
"The safety center will be home to the Somali Elders Youth Link, that is a group of Somali elders that we are hiring and worked with last summer," Clark said. "They'll be back in Dinkytown this summer to assist with youth diversion."
Clark said the safety ambassador group known as "Block by Block" will also work out of the center.
"I believe it will help to have a Safety Center in Dinkytown," Richard Painter said. "If the areas surrounding campus are not safe, then students are not going to want to come here."
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