Minneapolis residents spoke about their concerns regarding the rising violence in Minneapolis after the 50th homicide of 2021. As was reported on WCCO, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arrandondo and Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson held a community conversation where they heard the concerns of the citizens of Minneapolis.
One resident brought up the recent shootings of six children in Minneapolis, asking what is going to be done to remedy that growing problem. Chief Arrandondo said in response, “I cannot allow our babies to be shot, and to this day no one knows and not bringing forward who shot our children?”
While the Twin Cities are not alone in their massive growths of violence, Minneapolis is quickly approaching the previous record of homicides. The record was from back in 1995 when the city had 97 murders and was coined “Murderapolis.”
The civil unrest that Minneapolis has been experiencing has caused the Minneapolis police to be staffed well underneath the minimum requirements. As reported by The Minnesota Sun, “difficulties arise when precincts in Minneapolis have to outsource officers from other precincts when an emergency event like a shooting occurs. This leaves the other Minneapolis precincts in a tough spot, already being short staffed and having to go offer support to the surrounding areas.”
Arrandondo attributed some of the rising violence to the understaffed police precincts and said that his staff is actively working to hire more officers to combat the issue. The Minneapolis Police Department has been court-ordered to hire more officers after a judge found that the number of officers violated the charter for the city. As reported by The Sun, “The city, which is projected to only have a police force of 649 officers by the beginning of 2022, failed to fulfill its duties under its charter, according to the order.”
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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].
Photo “Police Tape” by Tony Webster. CC BY-SA 4.0.
