Downtown Minneapolis residents want to hire police to curb crime in their neighborhood

Minneapolis residents of Downtown East have banded together to clamp down on rising violent crimes in their neighborhood.

The group has launched an online fundraising campaign to help with hiring an off-duty police officer to patrol the Mill District neighborhood from 5 to 10 p.m. in the summer. So far, it has raised more than $4,000 toward its $30,000 goal.

"This is a community initiative," said Pam McCrea, board president of the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association. "We don't have an exceptionally high crime rate, but what we wanted to do was assure people that, in fact, no matter which way they define public safety, they are safe in our neighborhood."

https://www.startribune.com/downtown-minneapolis-residents-want-to-hire-police-to-curb-crime-in-their-neighborhood/600181782/