STATE OF THE PRECINCT
[Image isn’t loading, but all categories were down except B&E for the 28 days, 6/9/-7/14. B&E went from 20 in June 9 to 22 by July 14.]
Torborg: In burglaries we’re still averaging 4 a week, but compared to other precincts, it’s not too bad. Crime was down across the board. The only metric the 2nd Pct is up is the number of guns stolen. And that’s up across the city as well.
We found that one of the shipping companies in NE Mpls. had an employee intercepting gun shipments. They’d stolen 8 guns in one week. The guns were recovered, so at least they’re not out on the street.
I think one reason our crime has gone down is the work of our Juvenile Unit. — In ’23 and ’24, we had juveniles going on carjacking sprees.
Lieutenant Kelly O’Rourke, in the Juvenile Unit put a plan together. He and his team proactively visit the homes of juveniles they see frequently.
The teams worked hard to help the juveniles and their families, just to keep them off the streets at night. That’s probably the biggest factor.
[Quast: I’ve got a really good report on that. Go to https://courtwatch2pac.com/2025/07/05/march-meeting-part-1-mpd-outreach-to-youth/
If you lose that URL Google “courtwatach2pac.com” “Outreach to youth” ]
Torborg: We had a crisis in juvenile crime. We’d arrest juveniles for serious crimes, but there wasn’t really a facility where we could keep them. Often they were released within hours. We had to do something, and Lt. O’Rourke and his team have done something different.
The other thing Lieutenant O’Rourke has done is he’s gained the trust of a lot of the family members of the juveniles who are causing problems. There’ve been several times where things were going on, and mothers have contacted Lt.O’Rourke or others in his unit, and gave location data so we could track people down pretty quickly.
Question: I don’t hear much about gangs, but are those the older people?
Torborg: That’s a good question. Gangs have changed in my career. When I first started, we had primarily Vice Lords and Disciples and a few other major gangs Also, there were national gangs, most of them were involved in drug trafficking. They had ties back to L.A. or New York.
That’s kind of gone by the wayside.
Now, on the Northside, you hear The Highs and The Lows. Well, The Highs are just a group of kids that live north of Broadway. The Lows is just a different group of kids. Some gangs are pretty well organized, like the Bloods and the Disciples, but they’re not nearly as organized as they used to be.
Question: Is there a gang task force or something?
Torborg: It’s evolved. We had a Metro Gang Strike Force and then a Gang Enforcement Team in Minneapolis, and now our Gang Investigation Unit covers the gang investigations and crimes.
Discussion of future events: There will be an Open Street on Central (8-2) and the Precinct will have a table there with space for 2-PAC.
August 2-PAC will be on the second Monday, 8-11.
[The inspector gave us a tour of the remodeled Precinct. It is now ready for 21st century policing.]
2nd Precinct Advisory Council 