Violent crime in Minneapolis soared by over 20% last year, calling into question a litany of criminal justice reform measures proposed by local left-wing lawmakers.
In total, the Minneapolis Police Department logged 5,422 violent crime incidents over the course of the year, an increase of 21% from the previous year and a substantial uptick from the city’s five-year average of 4,496 violent crimes. Property crimes grew by 10%.
The news comes after the city announced a tripling of the budget of the Office of Violence Prevention, a pseudo-police replacement agency staffed with unarmed caseworkers to intervene in conflict. Virtually all of that money came from cuts to the city’s police department.
“Law enforcement plays a critical role,” said Minneapolis councilman Phillipe Cunningham, who helped lead the effort to secure more funding to the Office of Violence Prevention. “The Office of Violence Prevention is inherently collaborative. The public health approach is collaborative.”
Cunningham’s city saw some of the greatest destruction from this summer’s civil unrest, sparked by the death of George Floyd, who died in the custody of Minneapolis police officers. Damage from rioters in Minneapolis cost local businesses and the city estimated hundreds of millions of dollars.
The City Council voted unanimously in June to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department completely and replace it with a “Department of Community Safety.” Plans to go ahead with that initiative have lagged as both the mayor and other city leaders have questioned its wisdom.
“I believe in a comprehensive approach. That’s what we’re hearing from people,” Mayor Jacob Frey said in June. “We are not hearing people want to dilute accountability by having the head of public safety report to 14 people.”
The Minneapolis Police Department has seen broad demoralization among its members since the summer’s riots, with a record number of job vacancies and officers retiring.
“We need to make sure that our communities know that we are going to be there,” Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said last summer when addressing the city council. “That we’re going to be responsive. We’ve taken an oath to do that.”
The City Council has opted to move ahead with a charter amendment to create a “Department of Public Safety,” billed as an effort to work “beyond law enforcement” that would eliminate the requirement for the city to maintain a certain number of police officers based on population. That initiative could land on a public ballot as soon as November of this year.
“Minneapolis residents are imagining a comprehensive public safety approach that is more effective and more reflective of our values, and they are calling on the city to act,” councilman Steve Fletcher said of the plan. “This charter amendment creates a structure that supports that vision and allows our city to innovate.”
