Minneapolis violent crime hits 28-year-low

By Brandt Williams, Minnesota Public Radio News

Violent crime in the Minneapolis last year fell to a 28-year-low, city leaders said on Friday, but property crimes such as burglary and theft increased for the second year in a row.

Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan said property crimes are hard for police officers to prevent. But he says residents can prevent thefts and break-ins by doing a few simple things.

"Shutting your garage door. Locking your house when you leave the house. Actually we see in some areas we'll have a pattern where people are in the backyard, and people are coming in the front door that's open while they're working in the garden in the backyard," he said.

The city's year-end crime numbers are based on criteria established by the FBI. Under that criteria, the official number of homicides in 2011 is 32, which is lower than the city's count. City officials say the FBI doesn't count killings in self-defense as homicides.

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