• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Saturday, September 23, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

City councilmembers propose Department of Public Safety

by MSR News Online
February 3, 2021
26
SHARES
512
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
MGN

Last week Minneapolis City Councilmembers Phillipe Cunningham, Steve Fletcher and Jeremy Schroeder introduced the Transforming Public Safety Charter Amendment that would create a department of public safety and allow Minneapolis voters to decide the kind of policing it wants.

The Transforming Public Safety Charter Amendment would establish a Department of Public Safety, with a structure much like the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Councilmembers propose to have the measure ready to be placed on the ballot in Minneapolis in November.

“Minneapolis residents have a unified vision for a broader public safety system that keeps everyone in our communities safe and treats us all with dignity,” Schroeder said. “This change would not only expand our public safety toolbox but would also improve oversight and accountability—both of which are critical building blocks of a Minneapolis that is safe and equitable for all.”

 “People have been calling for meaningful structural change,” Fletcher said on Friday. “Looking at the racially unjust outcomes, looking at the violence, looking at the things that we see that really need change, we think that really requires is structural change.”

He feels the new Department of Public Safety will improve oversight and accountability.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

“Having the council have legislative authority with our approach to public safety feels like a way to bring some of these decisions into daylight so we have to publicly debate them,” Fletcher said.

According to the proposal, the new city department would oversee and lead a continuum of public safety efforts that “prevent, intervene in, and reduce crime and violence to create safer communities for everyone in Minneapolis.”

Under the amendment, the mayor would nominate and then the City Council would appoint a commissioner for the department.

“An awful lot of the situations that we’re responding to right now related to petty misdemeanors, related to addiction, related to mental health, related to homelessness, are probably things we could respond much better to with other resources and we want to create space to make those adaptations,” Fletcher said.

The Department of Public Safety will also be responsible for integrating various public safety functions of the city of Minneapolis, according to the proposed amendment.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

“Throughout 2020, we heard from residents from all walks of life about what they want to see from a system of public safety,” Cunningham said. “The changes in this proposal reflect that we listened to that feedback.”

After a public hearing, the proposal may then be forwarded to the Minneapolis Charter Commission for its review as required by law.

The amendment reflects wide-ranging feedback from community members over the past year, citywide, said councilmembers.

“Mayor Frey has heard community calling for safety services that go beyond policing. But he has not heard residents say we need to dilute accountability by the head of public safety to report to 14 elected officials with divergent opinions,” wrote the mayor’s office in response to the proposal.

The organization Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) is also critical of the proposal.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

CUAPB noted in a letter to the City Council that its primary concern was police discipline and accountability. They contend that the proposal does not address “actual changes in police conduct and culture.”

Councilmember Lisa Goodman voted against the amendment, saying in a statement that the plan “is reckless and will create more harm than good.”

“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,” Fletcher said. “This charter amendment creates a structure that supports that vision and allows our city to innovate.”

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

New book cast loving spotlight on the ‘Sistas’

Next Post

MNsure to open special enrollment period from Feb. 16-May 17

MSR News Online

Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.

You Might Also Like

Stanley Nelson’s doc ‘Sound of the Police’ dissects police in Black communities
Arts & Culture

Stanley Nelson’s doc ‘Sound of the Police’ dissects police in Black communities

town hall
Local

Upcoming Minneapolis City Council candidate forums

Mayor Frey taps Chief Judge Todd Barnette as community safety commissioner nominee
Local

Mayor Frey taps Chief Judge Todd Barnette as community safety commissioner nominee

Reexamining police killings after the investigation is over
Local

Reexamining police killings after the investigation is over

Minneapolis police chief under fire
Local

Minneapolis police chief under fire

New campaign asks speeding drivers: Who is relying on your safe return?
Local

New campaign asks speeding drivers: Who is relying on your safe return?

Next Post
MNsure to open special enrollment period from Feb. 16-May 17

MNsure to open special enrollment period from Feb. 16-May 17

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Sep 12
September 12 @ 6:30 pm-December 18 @ 9:30 pm Recurring

Vic Volare Presents MUSIC FOR MARTINIS ft: Vic’s Fabulous Nightclub Academy

Sep 22
September 22 @ 5:00 pm-September 23 @ 8:30 pm

9th Annual Lantern Lighting Celebration at Lakewood Cemetery

Sep 23
10:00 am-1:00 pm

Expanding Diversity Career Fair

Sep 23
7:30 pm-9:00 pm Recurring

Michhil Amra | We Are The Procession

View Calendar
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Read our latest e-Edition!

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: