As violent crimes have surged in Minneapolis, council members who attempted to dismantle the police department are complaining about reports businesses are closing due to growing crime. | Pixabay
As violent crimes have surged in Minneapolis, council members who attempted to dismantle the police department are complaining about reports businesses are closing due to growing crime. | Pixabay
The City of Minneapolis has seen a recent surge in violent crime even as the city faces a growing loss of law enforcement officers from the force.
The city has already had 55 homicides, compared to 48 in all of 2019, Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Chief Medaria Arradondo reported to the Minneapolis City Council, The Center Square reported. At the same time, the city has hit a five-year high in shootings, with 400 individuals shot so far this year.
“If we just stayed status quo right now, we will end this year with numbers that are absolutely unconscionable in community violence,” Arradondo said, according to The Center Square.
While that has been happening, 100 officers have resigned from the department, Arradondo told the city council, according to The Center Square. That compares to an average of 40 to 45 separation in most years.
Several council members reported hearing stories from constituents that police will not respond to property crimes in certain areas without more resources or officers, of store owners shutting down out of fear over crime and of people even having to pay extortion just to exit their own alley, according to The Center Square.
Council member Phillipe Cunningham expressed disappointment at finding that his colleagues who had tried to dismantle the department completely are now upset at a lack of police enforcement.
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