Myron Frans, senior vice president for finance and operations, sent an email to University of Minnesota students, faculty and staff Wednesday announcing Operation Gopher Guardian, “a targeted law enforcement presence in Dinkytown and the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood.” 

The program will run on Friday and Saturday for the next two weeks from the evening through the early morning. This initiative will include up to 10 additional officers from the University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) and the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).

The University will pay MPD and UMPD officers who take part in the initiative and are not already working these shifts overtime. 

This is the most recent in a slew of University attempts to crack down on crime around campus. In September, the University announced Dinkytown Alerts and a partnership with the Minnesota State Patrol. In July, the University implemented a safety pilot program in Dinkytown that converted certain streets into pedestrian zones for three weekends. 

Operation Gopher Guardian comes after incidents over the holiday weekend where at least four people were injured from fireworks shot outside of the Sigma Chi fraternity house and Frank and Andrea’s Pizza. 

Jake Ricker, the University’s public relations director, said in an email to the Minnesota Daily the Halloween weekend events, along with growing community concerns, led to Operation Gopher Guardian as a temporary solution. 

“The safety of our community, whether on campus or in the neighborhoods near campus, remains a top priority,” Ricker said. “This decision was made by University leadership, in partnership with MPD, in response to the uptick in crimes that have occurred recently in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood, including the Dinkytown area.”