Minneapolis city leaders are kicking off the third year of “Operation Safe Summer,” after a deadly weekend in downtown.
Violent crime has been on the rise again this summer in Minneapolis with three homicides just this past Saturday. That's causing the Minneapolis Police Department to call in reinforcements from agencies all across the state.
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans says technology will play a huge role going forward in bringing down crime.
"They are trying to target those individuals committing the most harm in the community, identifying them and removing them from that," says Evans. "It's done through the data that we have."
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara says surveillance in known problem areas will also be key.
"We are hoping to cool some of the hotspots, the places that have been hot lately concentrating for crime, serious crime, and violence," O'Hara said.
Part of the plan includes setting up programming for teens to keep them off the street and away from violence.
The announcement does come on the heels of a very violent weekend however. Minneapolis police spent the weekend dealing with three homicides and six shootings, all on Saturday night.
"Obviously we had a difficult weekend," says Police Chief Brian O'Hara. "You know, anytime there's a shooting, any time there's a murder, it is unacceptable. However, when we have three murders within such a short period of time, we know we know our community is outraged and we know we, as law enforcement, need to respond urgently. And that's exactly what we did."
There were ten violent incidents that had taken place since last Thursday and O'Hara reiterated the need to hire more officers.
Meanwhile, O'Hara says partnerships with the BCA, Hennepin County Sheriffs Office, and other intelligence partners have helped identify "hot bed" areas of crime that will be the main focus for the next several weeks and those agencies are assisting the MPD.