Local, state and federal law enforcement leaders launching Operation Safe Summer in Minneapolis Wednesday.
Minneapolis Interim Police Chief Bill Peterson says the annual crackdown on those known to commit violent crime has been an effective tool in getting guns and drugs off the streets during the warmer months when things are more active.
"Our focus is on a small number of individuals who commit a disproportionate amount of violent crime and create fear in our communities," Peterson says. "Every firearm recovered, every violent offender arrested, and every crime prevented makes a difference for the residents we serve."
Operation Safe Summer is a collaborative effort between MPD, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, state law enforcement agencies, and the ATF and FBI on the federal level.
They're also focused on public safety planning for some of this summer's major events like Twin Cities Pride in June, Taste of Minnesota in July, and WWE SummerSlam this August.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt says these partnerships have made the summer enforcement successful the last several years.
"When we come together with one common goal, which is to keep our community safe, the oath that we have taken to do and doing it in the right way, protecting people, preventing violence before it happens," Witt explains. "And also responding to the violence after it happens, that is literally our job."
It's the fifth year of the operation targeting individuals known to commit violent crimes, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says it's essential for the safety of the city.
"Clean up the streets, make them safe, operate constitutionally and with urgency," he says. "And do everything possible to get narcotics off the street, get drugs off the street, get guns off the street, and make sure the perpetrators of these violent crimes are held accountable."
Since it first began, the operation has resulted in close to 400 arrests of violent offenders and more than 140 guns have also been recovered.
