Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey admitted that calls to “defund the police” played a role in the crime wave plaguing his city.
“It’s just the reality of the solution, you know,” the mayor admitted when pressed by community leaders on how the “defund the police” movement at least partially contributed to the city’s crime spike. “When you make big, overarching statements that we’re going to defund or abolish and dismantle the police department and get rid of all the officers, there’s an impact to that.”
Frey’s comments come as Minneapolis has seen a large increase in crime over the last year, with early 2021 data showing a 250% increase in gunshot victims. The crime spree followed vows by the City Council to defund its police department in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, causing many of the city’s police officers to leave the force altogether.
While the City Council eventually agreed to spend an additional $6.4 million on law enforcement as crime rates skyrocketed, the violence continued to plague the city.
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“The violence needs to stop. It’s unacceptable,” Frey said. “People deserve to feel safe in their neighborhood. They deserve to be able to send their kids out to the sidewalk to play and to recreate without bullets flying by. That’s unacceptable. We should be holding those perpetrators accountable.”
The mayor admitted that the city doesn’t have enough officers to respond to the high demand and said he hopes the City Council will now make an effort to work with police Chief Medaria Arradondo.
“It’s going to take a very comprehensive effort,” Frey said. “Yes, it includes safety beyond policing, and it includes police. And, you know, I’m one that has been working lockstep with our Chief Arradondo, and I’m calling on the council members to try to work with him as well.”
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Frey now aims to submit a new plan to tackle the problem next week, saying that the city needs police but adding that officers will still need to be held accountable.
“We need accountability and culture shift within our department, and we need police,” Frey said.
