Minnesota Lawyer
Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, wants to ask area law enforcement about campus security. (Staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher.)
The Senate Higher Education Committee has scheduled a hearing to discuss student safety on college campuses in the Twin Cities, following a recent crime wave that included several violent events and armed muggings.
Committee chair Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, called for a Dec. 10 meeting to review the combined efforts of area law enforcement agencies to combat the apparent rise in crime this fall.
Since early October, the University of Minnesota has released numerous crime alerts for violent muggings, armed robberies, random sexual assaults and an attempted kidnapping on or near campus.
Several thousand University students have signed a petition calling on the school to increase police presence in the affected areas, according to the Minnesota Daily. The University of Minnesota Police Department handles crime response in campus housing and university buildings, while Minneapolis Police have jurisdiction in near-campus housing neighborhoods.
“We know that numerous law enforcement agencies are working in tandem to ensure the safety of our students and communities on and around metro-area campuses,” Bonoff said. “This hearing is an opportunity for all of them to come together and share their efforts with the public.”
The Capitol hearing, scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, is meant to discover any barriers to crime prevention and response, and to determine whether anything can be done to improve that work.
