Voters in Minneapolis rejected a measure that would have transformed the city’s policing 18 months after the killing of George Floyd thrust the city into the forefront of the police reform debate.
By a 56% to 44% margin, voters said “no” to a charter amendment that would have replaced the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety focused on public health solutions.
Why did the amendment fail?
The vote should not be seen as evidence that Minneapolis residents are content with city policing. Polls have shown that the Minneapolis Police Department is viewed broadly unfavorably, especially among Black residents. And 44% of voters did vote in favor of the amendment, so it is very much a mixed signal.
The reasons people voted against the amendment were complex. Yes, there was an element of resentment among White, more conservative Minneapolis residents who saw this as a radical attack on law and order. But it failed to get enough support among precincts with majority Black residents too.
One possible reason: As well as being more likely to face police brutality, Black Americans are also more likely to ask for the assistance of officers due to neighborhood violence. This bled into concerns over the impact that the amendment would have on police officer numbers.
As a result, the Black community was divided over the amendment.
Who voted against the amendment?
Support for the amendment was high in some parts of South Minneapolis, especially the multiracial communities around George Floyd Square. There was also strong support in some gentrifying neighborhoods where there are a lot of young white voters.
In the southwest precincts – where there are clusters of wealthy, white residents – there was very strong opposition to the amendment. But most precincts in North Minneapolis, which has the highest proportion of Black voters, also voted “no” on average. When looked at through the lens of race, the story of the amendment is complicated.
Initial poll results also suggest age was an important a divide, if not more so than race.
In sum, both support for, and opposition against, question 2 in Minneapolis highlights the complex racial politics around both fear of police violence and fear of crime.
Are those fears supported?
And there is a perception among the public that fewer officers results in greater community violence. But the truth of the matter is trickier. The city has not defunded the police—the budget for 2021 was roughly in line with 2020. So the drop in officer numbers is not a result of the city defunding the department. Instead, officers are leaving the force. And there’s some evidence too that the officers that remain have at times shirked their duties to the public or “pulled back” in proactive activities.
At the same time, there has been an intense scrutiny on police violence in Minneapolis since George Floyd’s murder, and this has changed how officers and citizens interact—911 calls have declined, relative to the rate of shootings, and trust is at a low.
What is next for police reform in Minneapolis?
I’m not convinced this is the end of the amendment—it could return in some form. Yes, it failed this time, but there is a core of residents, organizers, and activists who want to move away from the status quo when it comes to law enforcement.
The immediate concern for the city will be hiring officers to comply with a court order to comply with the minimum officers standard in the city charter, in addition to continuing to work to reform the department. So we will likely see more officers, not less, in the immediate future.
But there is real momentum for transformations in policing beyond reform. It is still possible that Minneapolis gets a Department of Public Safety, but through city ordinances rather than amendment and without disbanding the Minneapolis Police Department. And the city is continuing to onboard new mental health professionals to respond to some 911 calls.
Meanwhile, we have an ongoing federal Department of Justice investigation. That could well end with a consent decree or memorandum of understanding that would mandate some of the changes that activists and community members are looking for.
How will this vote affect the wider police reform movement?
After George Floyd, what happens with policing in Minneapolis is no longer just about Minneapolis.
For advocates of the type of transformative changes envisioned by the amendment, it is a mixed result. And had it been followed by continued increases in shootings, the danger would have been that the amendment would have been held responsible. The silver lining for those pushing for a “yes” vote is that perhaps the city now has the chance to develop alternative public health models without as much national scrutiny.
Michelle Phelps is a professor at the University of Minnesota.
This story was published with permission from The Conversation.
I wish this piece mentioned one of the primary frustrations with this analysis is it completely ignores the fact that the fed were here mediating in 2003, and reform was pledged and promised. Fact is MPD only doubled down on their violence against the community, to the point where a Chauvin could murder George Floyd in such cold fashion in broad daylight. The police know that the Mpls status quo doesn’t value Black life, and they manifest that. When you write: “Meanwhile, we have an ongoing federal Department of Justice investigation. That could well end with a consent decree or memorandum of understanding that would mandate some of the changes that activists and community members are looking for….” It would be nice to note that we have now come full circle, as in 0 progress in making the MPD see anyone other than white people as human beings. Police departments in MN in general, Mpls in particular, are nothing but hosts for violent white supremacist cadres who know a badge will protect them no matter the malevolence the inflict on Black people.