Back in June, members of Minneapolis city council vowed not just to defund the city’s police department, but dismantle it entirely.
Members of the council were celebrated and lauded by celebrities.
Officers left the department and morale sunk.
As the Star Tribune reports, “An unprecedented number of officers quit or went on an extended medical leave — many for PTSD claims — after Floyd's death, rioting that led to the burning of a police precinct, and calls to end the city's Police Department.”
Then reality sunk in. Over the past 8-months, the city has seen a massive spike in crime.
Star Tribune reports that “some residents have begged city leaders to hire additional officers, saying they're waiting longer for responses to emergency calls...”
On Friday, the City Council voted unanimously to approve $6.4 million in additional funding , so they can hire “dozens more officers”.
Minneapolis PD say they began the year with 817 officers on their payroll, 60 fewer than the previous year. But, only 638 officers are currently available to work, some 200 less than “normal levels”.
Three City Council members are still pushing a proposal to replace the police department with a public safety department that would include law enforcement and other services.
Robert Johnson at LawOfficer.com writes:
"If anyone dreams about becoming a Minneapolis police officer, they probably won’t pass the required mental health evaluations because they’re certainly out of their minds if they think starting a career as a police officer Minneapolis is a smart move.
Idealistically, we can only suggest that potential recruits should refrain and not deny the politicians and the protesters of anything they demanded. They wanted to defund the police—so let them have their way. Of course, as any rational person knows, defunding police departments leads to increasing crime. Granted, nobody is going to want to live in Minneapolis the way things are going, that is with quality of life going downhill, and violent crime going up and up."