The University of Minnesota is bringing in extra police officers as part of a "targeted law enforcement presence" to address crime on its Minneapolis campus.
"Operation Gopher Guardian" begins November 4 and 5 and will run again a second weekend November 11 and 12 during the evenings and early morning hours. The operation will enlist up to 10 additional officers from both the University of Minnesota Police Department and the Minneapolis Police Department.
"Operation Gopher Guardian will consist of overtime MPD officers, paid for by the University, and increased overtime from UMPD officers in addition to the normal force of officers on duty on campus on any Friday or Saturday evening," the press release stated. "UMPD, as well as our many law enforcement partners, are regularly the first responders to serious calls, including criminal, life safety, and traffic accident calls. This short-term initiative provides additional focused attention to specific areas near campus, and is designed to enhance safety and be responsive to the needs of our University community."
The U of M's response comes after a weekend of campus chaos where at least four people were injured after fireworks were shot at people, including at a party at the Beta Theta Pi house.
Three women were injured in a fireworks throwing incident in the 1600 block of University Avenue Southeast.
"It is a little unsettling. You're not expecting a firework to get show at you at 12:30 at night," said Jack, a senior who lives at the fraternity. "I think it's good to have more police presence around here just because of recent years I know a couple of people who've had incidents where they've been robbed."
Police are still investigating what happened and so far no arrests have been made.
"I think having extra police will put a lot of people at ease and make put those walking at home late at night in a safer state of mind," Jack added.
The University of Minnesota sends out safety alerts for Dinkytown and Safe-U notifications.
