Ramsey County Attorney John Choi is touting the success of a recent initiative he says is responsible for an increase in the number of nonfatal shooting cases being solved.
"In a nonfatal shooting, the person who was shot is still alive," says Choi.
And while they might be alive, they're not necessarily interested in cooperating with police.
"And the main reason is because they're fearful for retaliation," he adds.
Choi told WCCO's Chad Hartman that they have developed a standalone unit where St. Paul Police treat nonfatal shootings like homicides. That unit was formed in January of 2024.
"So, a much more intensive investigation and we're committed to solving the case without the victim's testimony," Choi explains. "The board said we will give you some of our public safety money. The city council and the mayor said, I definitely want this money to be used for the nonfatal shooting unit. You would think that it's really easy to do, but it's not."
He says it hasn't been easy and they've had success due to cooperation between neighborhood groups, police and elected officials.
Before they started this process, they had a solve rate of about 37%. Now that solve rate is 70%.
It's a very different number than across the river in Minneapolis. The nonfatal solve rate for shootings in 2024 was 23% but has been as low at 15% as recently as 2020.
Choi credits a lot of cooperation between police, the county attorney's office, and elected officials.
"You have maybe an environment where people are blaming each other or they're not talking to each other or any of that stuff," says Choi. "The conditions for change can't happen because very rarely does one person or one agency make a difference. It's really a collaboration where everybody pulls in the same direction and we can do a lot more there."
That is where Minneapolis really lags behind the other Twin City. A lack of police officers in Minneapolis is definitely a contributing factor. Since 2019, the department has struggled to get back to a full-staff, where St. Paul has stayed more stable. Not enough police, not enough investigators, and it gets much harder to get a case to prosecutors.
"We show up in these meetings with grace and humility and recognize that we're trying to serve the people and we need to get better outcomes," Choi told Hartman. "And I really believe that we're all pulling in the same direction. We're gonna get a lot done."