Despite record-breaking crime spikes, the Minneapolis City Council is advancing a plan to give voters the authority to replace police.
This year, a new political committee called Yes 4 Minneapolis gathered signatures to put a question on the ballot whether to amend the city’s charter, Just the News reports.
The proposal asks voters if they want to approve a plan to replace the police department with a new public safety department focused on a “comprehensive public safety approach” that would include officers “if necessary to fulfill the department’s responsibilities.”
The plan would remove the mayor’s power over the department, and eliminate the charter’s minimum number of police.
Indeed, violent crime in Minneapolis has skyrocketed over the last year. In 2020, more than 550 people were injured in shootings, a more than 100 percent increase over 2019. According to city gunshot detection data, people shot more than 24,000 rounds of ammunition in 2020.
According to city data, there were 82 homicides in 2020, making it the third worst year the city has ever seen.
The policy and government oversight committee approved the amendment in a vote of 11 to 2. It moves to the full council Friday, where it would go before voters in November if approved.
