Due to the huge wave of violent crime sweeping Minneapolis, the City Council Committee has recommended that the Minneapolis Police Department receive $5 million in overtime funds after major budget cuts were implemented following the death of George Floyd.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo requested that the Minneapolis City Council assist in funding the projected $9.5 million dollar overtime bill for the Minneapolis Police Department. Overtime for officers during the murder trial of ex-Police Officer Derek Chauvin alone totaled over $2.9 million, due in part to a shortage of officers.
The request for more funding happened after the Minneapolis City Council approved a budget that diverted over $8 million in funding from the Minneapolis Police Department.
Minneapolis has received a huge uptick in violent crime in the last year and a decrease in police officers. According to CBS Minnesota, the number of gunshot victims has more than doubled, and homicides in Minneapolis have increased by 81%.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo reported that his department has lost over 200 officers in the last year, which is a 25% drop from last year.
Due to the budget-cuts and being short-staffed, the Star Tribune reported that, “On Monday, civilian workers in the city’s 311 office will begin taking reports for theft and property damage calls that aren’t in progress. The city is still asking people to call 911 ‘if the theft or property damage is occurring at the time of [the] call.’”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is encouraging the Minneapolis City Council to approve the request for funding. He said, “Relying on overtime and over-scheduled officers is not a sustainable approach to policing and weakens our overall community safety strategies, including those led by our Office of Violence Prevention.”
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
