to get a more complete picture of what kind of crime we are talking about, let's just throw in some of the news that "MN Crime" has added about Minneapolis/St. Paul and surrounding burbs in Hennepin County. following the above

Violent crime surged nearly 17 percent across Minnesota last year, including a record number of murders, according to data released Tuesday by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The annual Uniform Crime Report covers a year marked by unrest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, staffing and morale problems within the police department in Minnesota’s largest city, the COVID-19 pandemic — which caused a surge in unemployment and other stresses on society — and a rise in violent crime in many other American cities. But the report's purpose is mostly to compile statistics for others to study, and it contains little analysis.

Minnesota recorded 185 murders in 2020, up 58 percent from 117 in 2019. That broke the record of 183 set in 1995 when Minneapolis alone had a record 97 homicides. The report said 75 percent of the state's murders last year were committed with guns, up from 69 percent in 2019. The homicide “clearance rate” was 65 percent of cases resulting in arrests, in line with 64 percent in 2019 but below the closure rates for 2016-18.

Other significant trends included a nearly 54 percent increase in arson to 710 fires after several years of declines. Motor vehicle thefts rose nearly 20 percent to 13,662, the most since 2005, amid a surge in carjackings. Bias crimes hit the highest number in 15 years, with 223 incidents reported, and 41 percent were motivated by bias against Black people. The value of property stolen jumped nearly 55 percent to $216 million, with big increases in thefts of food, grooming products, cash and vehicles.

Sept 2, 2021:

The number of Minneapolis homicides dropped below 2020 numbers for the third month in a row. The good news, however, is tempered by a 23% increase in shooting victims so far this year.

...August 2020, the city recorded 16 homicides, compared to 10 last August...

10 vs 16? Dealing with small numbers here, hard to draw conclusions of any sort influence X countered by influence Y, random chance, etc)

Sasha Cotton, head of the Minneapolis Office of Violence Prevention, said they track crime statistics but are cautious about drawing conclusions. But she said the community is trying to come up with ways to stay safe, and she hopes that’s helping lead to some shifts in the numbers. 

“It really is an all-hands-on-deck approach,” she said. 

Despite the encouraging homicide figures, violent crime has increased markedly since the  pandemic.

Last year, as people emerged from their quarantine cocoons, violent crime began to spiral in Minneapolis and nationwide. Minneapolis recorded 84 homicides last year — behind only the record number suffered in 1995. Although crime trends are notoriously difficult to decipher, experts place much of the blame on the pandemic, which created joblessness, closed schools and left young people with fewer ways to stay out of trouble. 

The murder of George Floyd by former police officer Derek Chauvin also sparked unrest, followed by a wave of police officers leaving the police department.

But as more people got vaccinated and Minneapolis began to reopen, homicide numbers began to improve, beginning in June. The number of homicides dipped from 11 to nine in June and from 14 to eight in July.   

According to a recent city report, homicides are still up 15% so far this year over 2020; robberies are up 11% and aggravated assaults are up about 2%, while rapes are down 17% and domestic aggravated assaults are down 14%. Property crimes such as burglaries and car thefts were down in every category compared to last year.

Jeffrey Butts, the director of the research and evaluation center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has been tracking gun violence and trying to understand the factors behind the 2019-2021 surge.

“I think we are seeing signs that the gun violence fever may have started to break,” he said.

https://minnesotareformer.com/2021/09/02/minneapolis-homicides-down-for-...

None of the experts point to "Take a Seat" as the specific game-changer