Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Acting Police Chief Amelia Huffman provided the city with an update today on what they are doing to combat increasing cases of violent crime, including a big jump in juvenile crime.
While crime is up in the city, the Mayor is worried about crime committed by juveniles. Frey says 75-percent of juveniles who are arrested continue to commit crimes, with some having as many as 3 or 5 additional arrests on their records.
"There is no one size fits all approach. You have to approach each individual kid with the dignity, the respect and the individuality they deserve. We need to make sure they are safe and our public is safe from some of these violent acts. Yes, we do need to make sure there is accountability in place. And where it's necessary, yes, we need to take some pretty serious actions. Also, we recognize the we don't just want to have kids heading into the criminal justice system for the long haul."
Some of those cases include recent carjackings, which have skyrocketed to 610 in Minneapolis so far this year. In 2020, there were 388. While many of those have been committed by juveniles, Mayor Frey says giving them opportunities is important.
One of the most important parts of moving forward, Mayor Frey says, is rebuilding the police department. Minneapolis Police have lost almost one-third of its officers due to attrition over the past year. He says finding the right people is the key to that process.
"We need to make sure young people have safe places to recreate, that they have things to do coming out of a global pandemic. That they're getting back to operating and functioning in a society where they feel comfortable and safe. Simultaneously, we need to protect both them and the city from some of the acts that have been perpetrated over the last couple months."
"We must do everything we possibly can to build back right. We need to be incentivizing the best possible officers that are community oriented, that are procedural justice minded, that want to protect and serve to enter this department. We need to be retaining and attracting the best and the brightest within to the Minneapolis Police Department."
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Mayor Frey ended his speech with a plan on how to recruit officers to the department with a strong message.
"I will say it bluntly, and this is something I think police chiefs and mayors around the country are recognizing is that police officers need to get paid more and fired more.