Let’s Talk Policy: Public Safety
Minneapolis Police at Twin Cities Pride
The past few weeks of door-knocking and conversation with neighbors leaves no doubt that public safety is still one of the top concerns of Minneapolis residents. Do we generally feel safe as we enjoy our neighborhoods and parks? Generally, yes. Yet our city has been confronted with serious violence in recent months, including Ward 7’s own Loring Towers this past week. Then there are the petty property crimes that remain unsolved and cost residents in both repairs and undue stress. Just last week, I was contacted by a contractor who had his car broken into while working at a home displaying one of my yard signs.
Typically when we hear the words “public safety,” we think of first responders, but the concept is broader than that. Living safely in community requires both a respect for the law and actual consequences for not abiding by it. When either is missing, it creates challenges for a city to thrive, not to mention making it difficult for law enforcement to do their jobs.
So public safety starts with us, our families, and our blocks. Do we have a basic respect for the law? Do we respect noise ordinances, observe the speed limit on parkways and roads, give pedestrians the right-of-way and stop for red lights? We start by controlling the things it’s easiest to control.
For those who don’t (or can’t) respect the law, there should be appropriate consequences and follow-up. This can range from simple speeding tickets to community service to jail time, or -- for those with serious mental health or addiction issues -- appropriate alternative help. In Minneapolis right now, we seem to have fewer consequences and little alternative help. The county home school for juveniles was closed, with few alternative placement options created to fill the gap. School Resource Officers were taken out of the schools, reducing chances for early interventions. There is simply too little funding for mental health services. Our county’s top prosecutor will no longer prosecute felonies if they stem from traffic stops. Shoplifting under a certain dollar amount will not be prosecuted. Car-jackers are not chased. Broken car windows, bike thefts and other property crimes are not investigated. Much of this stems from a critical staffing shortage at the MPD, which the department is working hard to correct, but it doesn’t change the fact that our city is hurting.
So what’s to be done? Without question, we need to fully support the MPD’s effort to recruit and train more officers and investigators. We also need to invest in proven technology while we fill the staffing gap. However, our incumbent council member voted to cut the police recruitment budget by $500,000 in the 2025 budget. Technology like Shot Spotter reduces officer response time and saves lives, but our incumbent voted against the expansion of Spot Shotter in several important neighborhoods, limiting expansion in Ward 7 to only Loring Park. Currently, she is exploring removing MPD officers from downtown city-owned parking ramps, to the alarm of those seeking to revitalize downtown.
If elected, I will promote a culture of respect and dialogue across jurisdictions to support our core public safety infrastructure and strengthen both consequences for lawbreakers and provide alternative help for those in need. Along with supporting recruitment and retention efforts at the MPD, I will fully support new technologies and alternative models that are data driven. In the last five years, the alternative policing budget has increased from $3 million to $23 million. Some of those ideas have been successful, such as the Behavioral Crisis Response teams. Others, not so much, such as the haphazard council oversight of violence interrupter contracts. All of our investments need to go through a proper procurement process and be held accountable for real results, including our reform efforts at the MPD.
To read about the heroic efforts of first responders as they rushed into the Annunciation shooting scene -- not knowing if there was a second shooter, putting their lives at risk for children and other parishioners-- is humbling. There should be no question we need our police, or that they form the backbone of true public safety in our city. That being said, we all have a role to play. Let’s do all that we can do as well…..building respect for the law into our relationships, advocating for consequences, treatment options and other solutions that support a comprehensive vision of real, effective public safety in Minneapolis.