(The Center Square) – While Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the FBI tout declining crime rates, others remain concerned about persistently high rates in the state’s metropolitan areas.
New data from both state and federal law enforcement for 2025 shows drops in violent crimes, including rapes, assaults, and theft.
Both Walz and the FBI touted the declines, some of which brought crime rates to historic lows.
“This crime report shows that Minnesota is safer because we made public safety a priority,” Walz said. “These results reflect years of work by my administration and the law enforcement officials, first responders, and community partners who keep Minnesotans safe every day.”
The 2025 Uniform Crime Report was released earlier this month by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and compiled data from a wide variety of crimes, as required to meet state and federal reporting requirements.
It found that statewide:
• Violent crime fell 9% and is now the lowest rate since 2019
• Murders dropped from 172 in 2024 to 132 in 2025
• Motor vehicle theft fell more than 22%
• Carjackings dropped 31%
• Larceny fell to the lowest number in 57 years
This comes as nationally there was the largest year-to-year decline in violent crime rates since FBI estimations began in 1936. The 2025 murder rate of 4.1 per 100,000 inhabitants is tied with 1955 and 1956 for the lowest murder rate.
Benni Jonsson is an assistant special agent in charge at the Minneapolis FBI office. On Tuesday, he shared a statement about the data.
“The FBI crime data shows a significant decrease in violent crimes across the entire nation. Now, here in Minnesota, it looks even better,” Jonsson said. “We are encouraged by this progress, and we will remain focused. Our agents will continue working with our partners to drive crime down and to build trust in the community.”
Jonsson also highlighted law enforcement operations to address crime in Minneapolis and the larger Twin Cities area.
“A large part of violent crime in our region, especially in the Twin Cities, comes from gang activity. Our agents work closely with local, state, and federal partners to target offenders in groups that cause the most harm,” Jonsson said. “When we remove violent offenders and their illegal guns, neighborhoods feel safer right away.”
David Zimmer, a public safety policy fellow at the Minnesota-based Center of the American Experiment, also focused on the continued high crime rates in Minnesota’s metropolitan areas in an analysis of the data.
“Minnesota’s statewide crime data is inordinately influenced by crime occurring in one city – Minneapolis,” Zimmer said. “Despite representing just 7% of the state’s population, in 2025 Minneapolis represented 32% of the state’s aggravated assaults, 45% of the state’s murders, 53% of the state’s robberies, and an astounding 72% of the state’s carjackings.”
In contrast, Walz highlighted that crime rates are also dropping in those areas.
“Violent crime fell 14% in the Twin Cities metro,” the Democrat said. “We backed that work with $3.8 billion in public safety resources across Minnesota, including historic investments in local law enforcement, crime prevention, and public safety infrastructure.”
Zimmer argued that more funding is needed for public safety though.
“These figures strongly support promptly increasing MPD staffing – an effort the city has struggled with since its city council voted to defund the department in 2020,” he said. “Improving Minneapolis’s arrest and crime-clearance rates would benefit not only the city, but also Hennepin County, the metro area, and Minnesota as a whole.”
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