Proposal to Wipe Out Minneapolis’ Police Force Approved for November Ballot

The Minneapolis City Council voted 12 to 1 on Friday to place a petition on the November ballot to wipe out Minneapolis’ police force, replacing it with a department of public safety.

As previously reported by Human Events News, a new political committee called Yes 4 Minneapolis gathered signatures to put a question on the November ballot whether to give voters the authority to replace police.

The proposal asked voters if they wanted 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’s advancement follows a June court order for the 435,000-person town to hire more police since it’s currently violating its charter by understaffing police, according to Just the News.

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.