Talking Downtown Duluth Safety

DULUTH, Minn. – Public safety and outreach services look to find middle ground solutions to Downtown Duluth problems.

City officials met to discuss the multi-faceted task of managing Duluth’s Downtown. From public safety leaders to representatives from various outreach services, much of the discussions centered around aiding the homeless population by finding a balance between enforcing laws and providing resources.

“The issues that we see in our downtown are quality of life issues,” said Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa, “We have not seen a spike in our violent crime in our downtown area like other cities, but we have quality of life issues.” The chief said open narcotics use and those suffering a mental crisis can make the public feel unsafe but says the response should be directing people to the proper resources.

Downtown Outreach Specialist Nathan Kesti said, “It’s a community effort to make sure that we all are feeling safe, and we’re all feeling heard, and that we’re getting folks the help that they need.” Kesti continued, “It’s about compassion and consistency, I think is the big thing about how to make sure that you’re supporting people to make healthy, better choices.”

Chief Ceynowa also praised a policy change from July of 2024, when the Duluth City Council voted to increase the penalty for camping on city property to a misdemeanor. Critics of the decision claimed it criminalizes homeless, while proponents have said that it directs help to people in crisis.