House DFL Public Safety Proposal Gets 1st Hearing As Response To Rise In Crime Is Focus At Capitol
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A $100 million public safety proposal from Democrats in the Minnesota House that focuses on community partnerships and community policing as essential to violence prevention got its first hearing on Tuesday.
The House public safety committee focused on just the first part of the bill: law enforcement partnerships. It allocates $40 million for "innovation in community safety grant program" that would prioritize areas with a combination of low average incomes and the highest rates of violent crime. There would be $10 million each year in the future.
Funds could be used for things like community violence interruption, victim services and mental health; this money wouldn't go to police. Other parts of the bill will be discussed later this week include implementing body cameras in departments without them and money for cops on patrol with beats.
"I'm confident that after this process, we will have a package that will provide a public safety framework that responds to this national moment, matches the scale of the challenge before us and will begin to turn the tide of this national crime wave's impact on Minnesota," said Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, who authored the legislation.
The meeting came just as news broke of a shooting outside a school in Richfield that killed one student and critically wounded another—an example in real-time of how public safety is top of mind for Minnesotans.
Republicans and Democrats alike vow to make public safety a priority and acknowledge that crime is a problem that demands attention, making it one of the key issues this session.
Patrick Sharkey, a sociology professor at Princeton University, testified before the committee about his study of policing nationwide and consequences of violence, underscoring that it impacts not just victims, but entire communities.
He said relying on police as the "primary institution" for public safety can be effective at reducing violence, but can come with a "great cost" and is unfair to law enforcement to take it on alone. He called the package pitched by Frazier as "essential to reducing violence."
"What I find most compelling about this bill is that it represents an investment in a different set of actors to play a more central role in creating strict safe, strong neighborhoods," Sharkey said. "But it is also an investment in a new style of policing that can build trust and make the police more effective."
Republicans, too, say public safety is their top priority, though their ideas include more funding for police, recruitment and retention incentives and tougher penalties for certain crimes like carjacking.
On Wednesday, a proposal to require Senate confirmation for members of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission will get a hearing, after the group stirred controversy for a tabled recommendation that would have eliminated stronger penalties for certain re-offenders.
Law enforcement groups express some concerns about parts of the DFL proposal, most of which weren't discussed Tuesday but will be later this week.
"While some aspects of this bill may be acceptable, there are many we cannot support," said Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Peace and Police Officer Association, in a letter to the committee. "Our focus is, and always will be, to properly support our communities and law enforcement simultaneously."
