Crime in Minnesota fell again in 2025

Crime in major categories continued to go down in 2025, according to a new report from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

As in past years, crime is at a multi-decade low, reaching levels Minnesota hasn’t seen since the 1960s. That’s driven largely by a decrease in property crimes — which includes theft and, more rarely, arson — which are far more common than violent crime and make up the bulk of the crime rate.

Crime falls again in 2024

Violent crime has also been going down in recent years, getting closer to but not yet reaching pre-pandemic levels.

The drop in crime seems to have reduced the salience of the issue this election year, after crime dominated the conversation during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. Both the pandemic spike in crime and police reform in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd were top of mind for many voters in those years.

Overall, Minnesota has a lower violent crime rate than the national average.

All eight index crimes — serious violent and property crimes that law enforcement agencies use to track crime over time — were lower in 2025 compared to 2024. Both violent crime and property crime dropped 12%.

Minnesota law enforcement reported 130 homicides in 2025, a steep drop from the 172 homicides in 2024. Most homicides were in Hennepin County, which had 70 homicides in 2025, also down from 89 homicides in 2024.

Robbery also dropped significantly, while aggravated assault had a more modest decline. Reports of rape decreased slightly in the state from 2,231 to 2,188 but increased slightly in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area.

In the property crime category, car thefts dropped significantly for a second year in a row; burglary, larceny and arson also went down.

Minnesota law enforcement agencies reported that their officers fired 326 shots in 21 use-of-force incidents in 2025, or 15 shots per incident, wounding 13 people and killing six. Officers accidentally discharged in three other incidents.

Of the 26 subjects of use-of-force by law enforcement, 12 were white, eight were Black, four were American Indian, and two were Asian. Of the 46 officers who used force, 43 were white, two were Asian, and one had race unreported.

In 2024, officers killed 11 people and wounded 11 others with guns.