ST PAUL, Minnesota — On Tuesday, St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry released the department’s most recent data on nonfatal shootings in the city.
So far this year, the city has had eight. This compares to 26 this time last year. Chief Henry stated that one of the most significant differences is the organization’s commitment to establishing a new, non-fatal shooting unit last year.
The idea may appear simple: investigate every non-fatal shooting as if it were a homicide. However, dedicated resources such as time, officers, and funding can be difficult to obtain.
The City of St. Paul and Ramsey County were able to secure $2.9 million in one-time state public safety funding to launch this unit in 2024-2027.
“If it’s going to continue to work the way that it is, we’re going to have to, as a city, work out a way to fund that beyond the three years because it is driving the number down,” according to Chief Henry.
Success is frequently measured by the number of cases that officers can solve, known as their clearance rate. St. Paul Police reported 38.3% in 2023, prior to the unit. But by the end of 2024, it had almost doubled to 70%. And this year, it’s at 57%, which is close to the national average.
“We have really talented people we invest in, who really care about the work,” according to Chief Henry.
There are twelve investigators with dedicated resources. Without them, Chief Henry contends, shooters would be free to strike again, while victims would seek their own justice. The new model also promotes community trust.
“The night of at the hospital, we have people there who are having conversations saying, ‘Please don’t do that, give us some time, we will go out and hold these folks accountable,'” mentioned Chief Henry.
The data also extends back to 2022, when there were 193 non-fatal shootings, and 122 in 2023.
Denver was the first police department in the country to implement this type of unit following an increase in crime in 2020. Other units are now located in Buffalo, New York, Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, California.
Denver Police Commander Matt Clark said the clearance rate was around 20% back then, but it increased to 67% last year.
“We shifted the cultural mentality to the idea that it’s a failed homicide and we experience the positive results from the courts,” Commander Clark mentioned. “So that swift justice, that intervention, is preventing any retaliatory violence and future violence by stopping those trigger-pullers from continuing their activity.”
Back in St. Paul, Chief Henry says that 61 of the 88 non-fatal shooting cases reported to the city’s county attorney were charged.
He expects shooting numbers to increase as the warmer months approach, but the department is prepared.
“We’d all prefer to prevent the next shooting than to solve it,” said Chief Henry. “Prevention is the gold medal.”