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May 31, 2006

Fighting Crime: Not Up Minneapolis' Alley

Minneapolis is in the midst of an almost-record-setting crime wave that has bucked the national trend toward lower crime.

One answer? Make it illegal to walk through other people's alleys:

The proposal would prohibit anyone from walking in an alley who doesn't live on that block or who isn't a guest of someone who does. Police, paramedics and firefighters would be exempt, as would garbage haulers, meter readers, code inspectors and others whose jobs take them there.
In fact, it will affect mainly the law-abiding. Me? I love walking down alleys; you see more interesting stuff, usually, on a block's back alley.

Like most such measures, this would seem to be designed more to make city officials feel good than to actually do anything about crime. As some people in Minneapolis have figured out:

On a sun-rich Friday afternoon, Gordon Anderson walked down the paved alley on the 3400 block of Lyndale Avenue S. He said he has lived on the block for 20 years and that everyone in the neighborhood walks down alleys.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," he said. "The whole country seems to be going to the Soviet Union, I'll tell you that."

Mr. Anderson, you are more correct than you think.

Of course, once the pointy-headed academics sound off...

Alleys originally were service entrances for houses, but architect Frank Lloyd Wright and other influences led to wider and shallower houses with garage entrances at the front of the lots, said Ann Forsyth of the Metropolitan Design Center at the University of Minnesota.

"An alley tends to be blocked off from view," Forsyth said. "There's not often a real reason for people to be walking out there except to do anti- social things."

Really?

Like...walking?

Like talking with one's neighbors?

Minneapolis already has an ordinance that prohibits motorists from using alleys to bypass traffic congestion on city streets.
Wow.

A city that can plan so thoroughly as to allow the cops to bust someone for driving down an alley to escape gridlock (oops) can't figure out they need to keep police on the streets in the Red Zone?

Posted by Mitch at May 31, 2006 07:42 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Care to post a link with some stats showing how we are "in the midst of an almost-record-setting crime wave"?

Posted by: Nick at May 31, 2006 08:21 AM

There was a pretty good piece on that on ... either channel 5 or 11 last night, I'm sure if you check their websites you'll get that confirmation.

I can see the rational for the ordinance, though I still don't like it: it gives the police an excuse to stop someone without probable cause. Its good when it catches bad people and may be necessary in this age of reduced federal/state money transfers ("Clinton Cops" & State LGA) so police can be more effective, but its really just shifting the burden from state & federal tax roles to municiple civil liberties. Expect more of this in the future. You could also make an argument that this is "taking the handcuffs off the police". It'd be nice if the city could tap its NRP money - I can't see this comming out of property taxes since both Minneapolis and St. Paul have twice the property tax burden of surrounding surburban communities, from what I'm seeing from the MLS listings I've gone through.

Posted by: Bill Haverberg at May 31, 2006 11:28 AM

I'm not a fan of this either, from a personal liberty standpoint. Like Mitch says, what's wrong with me walking through my neighborhood alleys to get to my friends house a few blocks away?

I would say this is akin to loitering laws, which are rarely if ever enforced. I'm not even sure they are still on the books.

Bill H points out that it gives police an excuse to question someone. Let's say that someone is in an alley and looks like they have no purpose being there other than no good (loitering rather than walking, rummaging through stuff, etc). I would hope that the police already have that authority. I see no point in questioning anyone and everyone who is in an alley.

If the police don't feel like they can question someone skulking through an alley without a law like this, then it may be useful. However, it seems there is a deeper problem hamstringing the police if that is indeed the case.

Posted by: Nordeaster at May 31, 2006 12:24 PM

When I read this, I had to laugh. Another fine example of the liberal tendency to think that making more laws is the way to change something. What we need is more enforcement, not more laws. If we had beat cops who could tell if someone was out of place, doing suspicious stuff, then it might make a little more sense. Otherwise, all they can do is randomly stop people and ask for ID to prove they live on the block. I don't see that happening.

Posted by: Margaret at May 31, 2006 12:32 PM

Mpls doesn't need more laws; they need more cops on the street enforcing the laws that are already on the books. Mpls has a host of public order laws (to use to take care of the little things ala New York, et al...) but if there isn't enough cops around to enforce them they're pointless. Lost LGA, COPS grants, whatever... MPD is understaffed (on the street). All non-essential gov't should be slashed until Mpls can adequately maintain police protection, fire protection, roads, water and sewer. All the rest is extra fluff. If Mpls had the extra money, great! But they don't. Why can't the Mpls politicians understand the concept of spending limited resources on the "needs" as opposed to the "wants"? And why, oh why do the citizens put up with it?

Posted by: BobbyRay at May 31, 2006 12:57 PM

Yet another good reason to live in my alley-free suburb.

Posted by: Kermit at May 31, 2006 12:59 PM

""Yet another good reason to live in my alley-free suburb.""

OH NO, let's all watch Mitch and JB go at it again . . .

Flash

Posted by: Flash at May 31, 2006 01:17 PM

“Why can't the Mpls politicians understand the concept of spending limited resources on the "needs" as opposed to the "wants"? And why, oh why do the citizens put up with it?”

Answer: because thanks to “free money” via Local Government Aid and federal grants like the unlamented COPS program, members of our local governments are able to spend beyond their means. Members of our legislative branch benefit because they get reelected for bringing home the bacon and local politicians get to put off making difficult choices and blame it on federal mandates while being able to get funding for programs that probably wouldn’t get funded if the local folks were picking up the full tab (e.g. LRT).


Posted by: Thorley Winston at May 31, 2006 01:32 PM

Alley free suburbs suck!

Your garbage is in front of your house, your garage door is probably the most visible feature on the front of your home and you probably have no sidewalks to walk your dog or meet your neighbors.

Alley aren't the problem, the lax justice system and lack of cops is the problem. We'd have enough cops in Minneapolis if the liberal judges didn't have a revolving door policy for almost any offense.

Posted by: Tracy at May 31, 2006 01:36 PM

In answer to "Care to post a link with some stats showing how we are 'in the midst of an almost-record-setting crime wave'?"

Current crime stats are compiled at Kennedy vs Machine blog:
Mpls. Crimes Year-to-Date:
* Murders — 22
* Rapes — 147
* Assaults — 708
* Robberies — 851
* Burglaries — 1645
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-statistics/codefor/

Total crimes recorded in St. Paul for year 2005:
HOMICIDE - 14
FORCIBLE RAPE - 126
ROBBERY - 346
AGG ASSAULT - 743
BURGLARY - 1543
THEFT - 3515
AUTO THEFT - 1043
Crimes Against Persons - 883
Crimes Against Property - 6447
Percentage increase from 2004: 6.2%
(No stats found at SPPD for 2006)

http://www.stpaul.gov/depts/police/ca_stats.html

Posted by: Nancy at May 31, 2006 02:14 PM

Nancy, Your statistics do not give any context for Mitch's characterization of the situation as, "in the midst of an almost-record-setting crime wave"

Comparing 2006 Minneapolis to 2005 St. Paul is not particularly useful for establishing a) a crime wave or b) that the level of crime approaches "record-setting"

Statistically I would expect Minneapolis crime to be higher than that of St. Paul due to population size and the sheer level of activity (business and entertainment) in Minneapolis when compared to St. Paul that bring non-residents into the city.

Posted by: Nick at May 31, 2006 02:34 PM

From the City wesite:
"There were 50 homicides in 2000 compared to 48 homicides in 1999 and 58 in 1998. This means that we continue to enjoy the lowest homicide
numbers since 1987."

We are through the 21st week of 2006 and have had 22 homicides. That would put the homicide rate on pace to be in the low to mid 50's. This appears to be within historical ranges especially when considering the fact that the city has grown in population (based on city estimates).

Posted by: Nick at May 31, 2006 02:46 PM

Sorry, Nick. You need to look at facts, not defend Lil Amy Klobuchar and her one-party DFL buddies.

http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-01.xls

Any "city" estimate is invalid as the Census Bureau is far more accurate and unbiased. Clearly, the population in Minneapolis is going down (down over 2% since the 7/00 numbers) and also is backed up by hard-data from the last full census. That's why CD5 had to expand out to the first ring suburbs...they had to capture population for the congressional district because people are leaving in droves.

People vote with their feet. On a per-capita basis, with a lower population but an near-record high count of homicides...no one can argue that Minneapolis has grown into a high crime city. And Lil Amy Klobuchar is right at the center of the cesspool.

Posted by: Dave at May 31, 2006 03:42 PM

Maybe if they passed a law that says if you live in one neighborhood you have to wear a yellow star, and if you live in another neighborhood you have to wear a red star, then the police will always be able to tell who's in the wrong alley so they can more easily arrest the criminals. Then everyone will be safe!!

Posted by: Eracus at May 31, 2006 04:39 PM

I have an alley AND live in a suburb. Try wrapping your minds around that one.

Posted by: the elder at May 31, 2006 04:41 PM

How exactly is Amy Klobuchar responsible for the "near record high count of homicides"? Is she supposed to be an attorney by day, roving super hero crime stopper by night?

Fulcrum

Posted by: Fulcrum at May 31, 2006 04:54 PM

Futher more Dave, based on your link, you based your analysis on Census estimates, how is that reliable?

Posted by: Fulcrum at May 31, 2006 05:00 PM

Dave, First of all where did I ever defend Klobuchar? I just want to make sure we are dealing with actual facts.

My understanding is that the 2000 Census estimates for Minneapolis predicted a flat or slight decline in population. When the census was completed they actually recorded an increase in population of 10K or so which was more in line with the local estimates. The Met Council 2004 estimate had Minneapolis flat at 382K. Wouldn't the local governmental units have a better handle on what is actually going on than the sampling methods used by the federal government?

CD5 had to expand because the population size of all congressional districts has expanded faster than the relatively flat rate of growth in Mpls. That is not the same as people "leaving in droves"

Furthermore where are you getting the idea that this is a near record year for homicides? Here are the historic homicide statistics:
1994 67
1995 131
1996 71
1997 41
1998 58
1999 47
2000 50
2001 43
2002 46

As I stated already - there have been 22 homicides so far this year in the 21st week of the year. Consequently we could expect low-to-mid 50's which is no where near a record and in fact is statistically in line with historical levels.

Posted by: Nick at May 31, 2006 07:10 PM

15 yrs ago when a buddy lived on Pleasant in So. Mpls. there was an African American couple who spend every Saturday morning walking alleys collecting aluminum cans from people's garbage (and litter). They put 2 kids through college this way. Guess that'd be a crime now.

Posted by: chriss at June 1, 2006 07:15 AM

"there have been 22 homicides so far this year in the 21st week of the year. Consequently we could expect low-to-mid 50's which is no where near a record and in fact is statistically in line with historical levels."

Murder rates are not historically linear throughout the year. The rate tends to pick up in the summer.

It'd be more accurate to compare to murder rates in the 21st week of different years. I have to find those stats - but I'm thinking that 22 deaths by Memorial Day is not a good start to the year.

The simple fact that minneapolis' murder rate per 100,000 is double that of Saint Paul should tell you something (beyond "Saint Paul is better"...)

Posted by: mitch at June 1, 2006 07:33 AM

Can't drive down alleys?

When we lived in Chicago, my wife called alleys little two-way streets in between the big one way streets. They are very useful.

Posted by: chris at June 1, 2006 07:44 AM

Tracy, my garbage is in a nice, big, coverd roll-out container inside my garage, right next to my bigger, covered, roll-out recycling container. My wonderful suburb will ticket your classless ass for leaving your garbage in view of the street.
As for people walking their dogs, I only wish I didn't have the constant parade of neighbors doing so carrying plastic bags of excrement while letting their Fxxxing dog use my front yard as a toilet.
But that's the price you pay.

Posted by: Kermit at June 1, 2006 07:56 AM

You are right that homicides are not linear but they also decrease in the end of the year. December has a particularly low rate so annualization is not totally irrational.

So Mitch - Where are you getting this whole "almost record-setting" thing? Are you going to post a correction if it isn't the fact?

Regarding the Mpls v. St. Paul crime rates: Statistically I would expect Minneapolis crime to be higher than that of St. Paul due to the sheer level of activity (business and entertainment) in Minneapolis when compared to St. Paul that bring non-residents into the city.

Posted by: Nick at June 1, 2006 08:09 AM

From Today's Red Star

They note that crime tends to rise with the temperatures and police already report that violent crimes, including homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults, are up 35 percent from this time a year ago.

We are on track for close to 100 murders in 2006! Welcome back to Murderapolis!

Posted by: Tracy at June 1, 2006 04:30 PM

Berg,

Upgrade to Haloscan, this comment software sucks.

Here's the link for the stat from the Red Star

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/465959.html

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Posted by: Jenna Helena at June 10, 2006 08:14 PM

Hey Kermit,

You sound just like a stuck up suburban prick. If your afraid of human interaction, then you really have problems.

I love to say whats up to the people who walk up and down the sidewalk outside my house. People watching is fun as well.

Now, Kermit, go play some basketball by yourself in your dark cul de sak ALONE! or better yet, hop on the interstate and drive 20-30 min to find some real culture. (in my city) you might see me in my front yard with a beer in my hand talking to my neighbors as they walk by.

Posted by: Jeremy at June 27, 2006 05:07 PM
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