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Criminal Division

The Criminal Division’s role in public safety is to do justice, hold offenders accountable, and enhance the public’s sense of safety.

City Attorney’s Office prosecutes petty misdemeanor, misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor criminal cases that occur within the City limits and for which someone has been charged.

The Division is organized into teams, including a Special Prosecution Team (focusing on repeat offenders), a Domestic Abuse Prosecution Team, and trial team.

Aggressive Prosecution of Livability Crimes

The City Attorney’s Office is committed to aggressive prosecution of livability crime. Both chronic offenders and perpetrators of domestic abuse cases are a priority for the office. The office also prosecutes lower level or "livability" crimes:

Aggressive Solicitation	Loiter with an Open Bottle
Consuming in Public	Lurking
Damage to Property caused by graffiti	Minor Consumption
Disorderly Conduct	Noise Violations
Drug Paraphernalia in a Public Place	Prostitution
Littering	Public Urination
Loitering	Trespass

In 2006, the City Attorney’s Office prosecuted over 27,195 criminal matters.

Active Involvement in Improving the Criminal Justice System

An important part of the Office’s public safety strategy is active involvement in improving the criminal justice system. Systemic changes have helped the Office focus its resources on those livability crimes that threaten the fabric of the City and its neighborhoods.

The Office worked with the Hennepin County District Court to facilitate resolution of matters at the Violations Bureau in order to minimize the number of these cases that appear on court calendars. The Office was active in the creation of the Community Court, the Domestic Violence Court and continues to work with the District Court on mental health matters.

Proactive Collaboration with Neighborhoods on Community Justice

The Criminal Division works with neighborhood restorative justice programs, which assist those charged with a crime to sense their personal accountability by focusing on the community impact of their crimes. The Criminal Division also operates a Community Attorney Program, through which it has assigned a Community Attorney to office in each of the five police precincts in Minneapolis. Feedback from both the community and the Minneapolis Police Department has been very positive regarding this initiative and supports the office’s belief that the Community Attorney program is an effective tool to increase the Office’s connections with the community and improve the Office’s prosecution of livability crime.

The Criminal Division is headed by Deputy City Attorney Martha Holton Dimick (612-673-2610)