Five times more cars were stolen in Minneapolis than in St. Paul so far this year, data shows
Returning to where she parked her car in Minneapolis around 11 p.m. in early March, Tia Nahl found an empty spot. She'd soon realize that she had become one of the 1,308 motor vehicle theft victims in Minneapolis in 2026, which is more than five times the amount of thefts that St. Paul is tracking across the river.
"You almost feel violated," Nahl said.
She was shocked to hear the discrepancy between the Twin Cities when it comes to vehicle theft. Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher pointed out the difference in a post on social media, arguing it "didn't happen by accident."
Sgt. Thomas Segelstrom leads the Carjacking and Auto Theft (CAT) team with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. He said since it began off the back of a state grant in 2021, they've seen positive results. Segelstrom said that members of the unit focus solely on auto theft and do coordinated work with other local law enforcement. Over the past three years, he said that car thefts are down 61% in the county.
"We're trending in the right direction and that's just focused deterrence," Segelstrom said.
In the first two months of 2026, the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office said there were 195 stolen cars in St. Paul and 1,054 in Minneapolis. As of March 16, the number in Minneapolis rose to 1,308. It means that there have been around 300 more car thefts in Minneapolis during this time period in 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
A spokesperson for the Minneapolis Police Department said that there are a number of factors working against them. He noted that the police department does not have a dedicated auto theft team and that St. Paul is "better staffed."
The police department also said that Operation Metro Surge played a role in January and February, given "officers and investigators were consistently pulled from their normal assigned duties."
The Minneapolis police spokesperson alluded to issues with the department's own pursuit policy and the charging practices of the Hennepin County attorney, but did not elaborate further when asked on Tuesday. The department is currently working on new strategies to combat the car theft problem, including a pilot program "that employs the targeted use of forensic scientists to process stolen vehicles for evidence."
"Crime data indicates that a relatively small group of individuals is responsible for a significant share of auto thefts in the city. As a result, identifying and arresting these suspects often has a direct impact on reducing the number of auto thefts," the spokesperson said in an email to WCCO.
Segelstrom echoed the same sentiment. He said that their unit is focused on targeting "career criminals" responsible for the lion's share of thefts.
"It's not just a specific jurisdiction. It's a metro problem, it always will be," Segelstrom said.
A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office said that deputies do not take auto theft reports from Minneapolis. He said that their Auto Theft Task Force has recovered 169 stolen cars and made 48 felony arrests so far in 2026 in partnership with the police departments in Edina, St. Louis Park and Minnetonka.
As for Nahl in Minneapolis, she said that she got a call from an impound lot on Monday night. While Minneapolis police had found her car, she said that the damage to her ignition means it is likely that her insurance will consider the vehicle totaled.
