Minneapolis To Re-Fund Police Departments Amid Crime Spikes

Crime is rampant in Minneapolis as the Defund the Police movement crumbles under its logic and continues to allow criminals, across the gamut, to participate in crime with police departments short on available help.

According to the Star Tribune, the Minneapolis police department is making a U-turn on its declaration to cut back on police funding amid its surge in crime.

"Mayor Jacob Frey and the City Council last week agreed to a $1.6 billion budget that includes just over $191 million for the Police Department (MPD), restoring its funding to nearly the level it held before George Floyd was killed in 2020," announced the Tribune.

The report added, “Some community groups in Minneapolis welcomed the new budget, saying they viewed it as evidence that elected officials were willing to fulfill their campaign promises to bolster funding for police but also other public safety services. The plan also increases funding for the Office of Violence Prevention to $11.3 million.

"What people tend to say, and especially voters of color, is, 'What I want is something very simple. I want to be able to call for help when I need it, and I want to be able to not fear that help when it arrives,'" Morillo said. He said the group's vision is "public safety that prioritizes a public health lens so that we ensure that professionals who are trained in their fields are responding to calls that are relevant to those fields."

Even in the context of police reformation, the objective to defund police departments and retain safety for the community has been far-fetched.

"Frankly, I find it disingenuous," said Betsy Smith, a spokesperson for the National Police Association. "I think there are going to be people who are going to vote for this thinking, 'Yay, we're going to abolish the police,' and that's not what's happening.

"To restructure a public safety organization, it will take years," she said. "The city is still going to have to deal with the promises they made to these police officers as far as pension and insurance. Now you're going to have to spend a lot of money on training. Just think about how much it's going to cost to change the name of everything on patches, cars, business cards, doorways."

Sunday morning saw the latest case of crime ailing the citizens of Minneapolis when a woman was shot to death inside her vehicle, and a passenger was seriously injured after getting struck by oncoming shots.