BCA Annual Crime Report: Violent Crime and Auto Thefts in Minnesota

(FOX 9) – The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has released its annual crime report for 2023. It shows that violent crime has declined since 2022, while hate crimes and attacks on police officers have increased.

Each year, local law enforcement agencies report their crime data to the BCA, including reports of missing children, firearms fired by police officers, crimes committed, police reports and more. The BCA then compiles the data into an annual report.

Here is a breakdown of the data for 2023:

Which crimes have decreased?

According to the report, violent crime overall fell 6.9% in 2023. The seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area saw an 8.2% decline, while the greater Minnesota metropolitan area saw a 3.4% decline in violent crime.

In 2023, 475 fewer robberies were reported than in the previous year. At the same time, reports of burglaries fell by 14.22% in 2023 (10,416 compared to 12,144), and thefts also fell by 14.29%.

In 2023, 15,612 vehicles were reported stolen, 1,131 fewer than the previous year. The number of car thefts also fell by 37.8%: there were 372 incidents in 2023 compared to 598 the year before.

According to the BCA, the number of thefts is at its lowest level in 55 years, with 72,701 reported incidents.

The number of reported rapes decreased by 11.85% in 2023, but 40.5% of the victims were reported to be minors.

The number of murders remained relatively constant, at 181 in 2023, one less than the previous year. In addition, the proportion of firearms used in crimes decreased from 73.1% in 2022 to 69.6% in 2023.

Arson reports also remained fairly stable with 626 reports in 2023, two fewer than in 2022.

Which crimes have increased?

While many crimes are declining, hate crimes have increased. BCA data shows that 180 incidents were reported in 2023, up from 168 in 2022. The most commonly reported crimes are property damage, intimidation and simple assault, and they most often occur in someone's home.

There was a slight increase in attacks on police officers in 2023. Data shows that 961 incidents were reported in 2023, in which 1,206 police officers were attacked, compared to 859 reports and 1,062 police officers attacked in 2022.

There were no police fatalities in 2022, but one person died in 2023. In addition, there were 21 cases of use of force, the same number as in 2022, but two fewer people died in 2023.

The number of arrests has also increased, with 114,538 arrests reported in 2023, compared to 112,581 in 2022. In addition, 10,948 juveniles were reportedly arrested in 2023, 403 more than the previous year.

Click here to view the full report.