Violent crime in Rochester down 18% in 2022

Mark Wasson, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Feb. 8—ROCHESTER — Violent crime in Rochester followed the national downward trend, according to

data submitted to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

from the Rochester Police Department.

For crimes against a person, RPD reported 839 incidents and 982 offenses in 2022 compared to 1,018 incidents and 1,193 offenses in 2021. Crime statistics can count multiple offenses within a single incident.

This drop is largely reflected in assault reports, with 840 assault offenses reported by RPD last year compared to 1,022 in 2021.

"To proactively and aggressively address violent crime, Rochester Police Department created an internal Violence Interruption Priorities group. The cross-functional group initiates a coordinated response for identifying suspects and tracking them down, ultimately interrupting the cycle of violence. Within weeks of creating the group in 2022, RPD had a significant increase in arrests and gun seizures," Rochester Police Chief Jim Franklin said. "Also, RPD really emphasizes community partnership and collaboration to solve problems and make our city safer."

The BCA separates crimes into three categories: crimes against a person, like assaults, sex crimes and homicides; crimes against property, like theft or vandalism; and crimes against society, such as drug offenses.

Violent crime is a crime where an offender uses or threatens to use harmful force against a victim.

"We will continue to proactively and aggressively work on community problems and rapidly respond to calls for service with the understanding that we typically see an uptick in crimes in warmer months," Franklin said.

Statewide crimes against a person also dropped from 43,235 incidents and 50,656 offenses in 2021 to 41,866 incidents and 48,928 offenses in 2022. Nationally, violent crime also decreased from 2021 to 2022, according to a

report from the Council on Criminal Justice

.

In Rochester, sex crimes decreased from 143 offenses in 2021 to 126 in 2022, kidnapping or abduction offenses fell to nine in 2022 compared to 18 in 2021, human trafficking offenses had a reported three offenses in 2021, down from eight offenses in 2022, homicides remained even across both years with two reported in both 2021 and 2022. Robbery offenses also decreased from 45 reported in 2021 to 32 reported in 2022.

People are much more likely to experience a violent crime at their home or residence with 51% of reported offenses occurring there.

Crimes against property also saw a sharp decrease, with RPD reporting 3,570 incidents and 4,032 offenses in 2021 compared to 3,126 incidents and 3,520 offenses reported in 2022.

Crimes against society was the only category that saw an increase over the year and that was largely fueled by illegal drug violations, with 454 incidents and 634 offenses reported in 2021 compared to 507 incidents and 723 offenses in 2022.

"RPD has always actively targeted drug dealers and suppliers, and we will continue our rigorous narcotics enforcement moving forward," Franklin said.