MINNEAPOLIS — The University of Minnesota is taking steps to increase police presence and prevent violent crime on its Twin Cities campus, after a weekend shooting that injured three college students in Dinkytown.
University President Joan Gabel sent a message to students and staff on Monday addressing the recent shooting. She said that three students were among five people injured Friday night on 14th Avenue and 4th Street SE. No one was killed.
In her letter, Gabel said that she was writing in "shared frustration" with the campus community.
"Our city is not immune to public safety challenges, as crime is up in many cities nationwide," Gabel said. "We should, nonetheless, be able to feel safe in the neighborhoods and areas surrounding our Twin Cities campus, even though they are not a part of the University’s jurisdiction."
Gabel said university leaders spent the weekend discussing safety in the neighborhoods surrounding the campus with the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department. Effective immediately, Gabel said:
- MPD officers will be much more visible late at night
- UMPD will assign more officers, on overtime, to Dinkytown and Marcy-Holmes
- UMPD and MPD will install mobile cameras in Dinkytown and the immediate surrounding areas
Gabel said they will also be taking some long-term steps:
- Additional UMPD bike and vehicle patrols in Dinkytown and Marcy-Holmes during the summer
- Analyze where to install additional security cameras
- Examine installing "blue light" emergency response kiosks in Dinkytown
- Seek additional street lighting in Dinkytown, working through the city
- Evaluate forming a safety ambassador program to provide a "visible, on-the-street presence" in Dinkytown and Marcy-Holmes
Gabel said the university leadership understands that "safety is not accomplished solely through an increased presence of law enforcement."
She said the university will be working to engage in the Dinkytown and Marcy-Holmes neighborhoods to come up with safety initiatives that will "create a safe community for all." The university is using the Rave Guardian safety application, among other solutions that have "proven successful in similar areas, both regionally and nationally," Gabel said.
