POLITICS: January spike in Minneapolis auto thefts continues into February – USSA News

The City of Minneapolis saw a spike in auto thefts in January, up over 31% from the same period last year, and the trend is continuing into February, so far.

Crime Watch Minneapolis began posting about auto thefts in mid-January after noticing a rash of thefts in one weekend that continued into the following week and through the end of the month, sometimes with upwards of two dozen auto thefts within hours on some days.

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January 2026 Minneapolis auto thefts visualized (dark blue dots).
Total auto thefts listed on the MPD Crime Dashboard for January was 541, a 31% increase over January 2025. pic.twitter.com/dJGoNaDWtx

— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) February 12, 2026

By January’s end, the month totaled 541 auto thefts in the city, according to the Minneapolis Police Department’s crime dashboard. That compares to 412 in January 2025, an increase of over 31% year-over-year.

Through Feb. 10, this month has seen 159 auto thefts, which compares to 115 during the same period last year — an increase of just under 40% over last year. Monday, Feb. 9 saw 35 auto thefts alone, according to the dashboard.

For reference, there were 340 auto thefts in December 2025, according to the dashboard.

A spokesperson from the Minneapolis Police Department responded to an email inquiry about possible causes for the spike and said that 43-47% of auto thefts in January were due to vehicles left running or key fobs inside, with the cold weather being a possible contributing factor. The spokesperson was not able to immediately provide a number of how many vehicles had been recovered or whether any arrests had occurred, nor whether any of the thefts may be connected to an organized theft ring.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) posted on Facebook on Tuesday that its auto theft unit had recovered 18 stolen vehicles last week and had arrested eight individuals in a concerted effort with Edina, St. Louis Park, and Minnetonka police departments.

HCSO said that in five hours one day, seven stolen vehicles were recovered in north Minneapolis. Over the next several hours, five additional vehicles were located using intelligence-driven strategies and monitoring areas known for auto theft activity, the office said.

Eight suspects are facing multiple felony charges, including weapons offenses, HCSO said. The names of the suspects were not provided.

HCSO credited its success to the help of an auto theft prevention grant as well as collaboration with its Violent Offender Task Force, patrol deputies, the Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol Air Unit, and Hopkins Police Department.

Overall recent auto theft numbers for Hennepin County were not immediately available.

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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

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