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Jun 26, 2009 11:10 pm US/Central
Mpls. Police Credit Crackdown In Homicide Drop
(WCCO)
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In Zimmerman's 15 years in the homicide unit, his team of 14 has never seen a year start this slowly.
CBS
Minneapolis police are reporting homicide numbers the city hasn't seen since the 1940s. In the nearly six months of 2009, there have been five homicides. This time last year there were 18.
A white board at city hall inside the homicide department may tell the story even better than a murder scene in Minneapolis.
"This is a board that we put up for quick reference," said Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman with the Minneapolis Police Department. "Usually by this time every team would have had a couple of murders, three or four murders each. There are two teams that are empty for this year."
In Zimmerman's 15 years in the homicide unit, his team of 14 has never seen a year start this slowly.
"We're waiting for the shoe to drop," he added.
Zimmerman credits a couple of things for the change. A relatively-new juvenile crime unit has helped put troubled kids away quicker. A violent offender task force has also been putting gang members away for 15-or-20-year sentences.
The drop isn't just all about safety. It also comes down to dollars and cents. The lighter case load is saving Minneapolis money.
"Investigators have to work a lot of overtime to get these cases closed, to get a guy arrested, to get a charge and for court. We're just not doing that right now," said Zimmerman.
Officers are spending spare time on cold cases. Four have already been solved this year, when in some years they won't get to a single one.
"They're going out and snatching up some of these crooks who might have gotten away with a murder in the past because we didn't have time the to work it," explained Zimmerman.
This year's low number comes with no complaints, but the department knows the summer can change things in a second.
"Not until Dec. 31 of this year we'll breath a little easier," added Zimmerman.
So far this year, St. Paul has seen six homicides, running a few behind past years as well. On average, there's about 20 a year in St. Paul.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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