Mpls. officials report slight rise in crime

Reports of violent crime in Minneapolis in 2012 appear to have leveled off after an upswing earlier in the year.

Minneapolis city officials say that so far this year, reported violent crime citywide is nearly 8 percent higher than last year and 2 percent above levels in 2010.

For a while it looked like 2012 could have been a much more violent year, when the number of assaults and robberies spiked in the spring. Police say a relatively warm winter and early thaw meant more people were out causing trouble earlier than usual.

A few sections of the city are statistical outliers. Downtown has had an increase in reported violence of more than one-third over the previous year. The 5th Precinct, which includes southwest Minneapolis, has seen a drop in violent crime of 17 percent.

The 38 homicides so far this year are similar to the totals from 2011 and 2010. Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau is expected to comment on this year's final crime statistics next week.