Minneapolis voters are considering a measure that would lead to a complete overhaul of the city’s police force. As voters head to the polling station they’ll face the question of possibly dismantling their police force to replace it with a new law enforcement organization. The measure will require 51% of voters’ support for it to pass.
Fox News reports:
Those headed to the ballot box will be faced with electing a new mayor and other initiatives, including whether they approve of a city charter amendment to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety, which would be under the control of the mayor and city council.
Some who support the measure claim it will help more evenly distribute the workload between police and other agencies depending on the call being made. For example, in some instances social workers would be called to the scene instead of police officers.
“I was raised to understand that when you get in trouble, you call 911 and someone on the other end is going to help. Most of the time, unless it’s fire, the helper is going to be a police officer,” Erica Mauter, a Minneapolis resident who supports the measure, told Fox News. “I’ve come to understand as I’ve lived more of my life that sometimes the right helper for the problem is not a police officer with a gun.”
Opponents to the measure raised concerns over the measure’s vague language over how the measure could realistically be implemented in the state’s largest city which is already facing a spike in crime.
“They can’t just take the largest city in the state and take the police away and put in some social workers,” Kevin Rofidal, a retired police officer from the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, told Fox News. “The police aren’t the problem here. The problem is going to be who is going to show up at the polling place.”
“Is it the people in the high-crime neighborhoods or is it the progressive who just moved here and want to change the city?” he added.
Will Minneapolis be the first major city to have a total overhaul of its police force? What do you think the outcome will be if the measure passes? Will it be the return of the seemingly endless riots the city saw in 2020 or could the city manage to make a smooth transition and install a public safety force for Minneapolis residents?
Tell us what you think below!