We are coming off a spike in violent crime in the Twin Cities. That is prompting leaders to look into what needs to be done, including hiring more officers.
Both Minneapolis and St. Paul Police departments are facing a shortage of officers. And that translates into potential trouble for everyone involved, according to former St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell.
"If officers are going call, to call, to call, and working 20-30 hours of overtime every week, your staffing is short, you're going to have exhausted officers and you're going to have more mistakes," Axtell told WCCO Radio's Susie Jones.
He say having enough officers matters.
"The more crimes you solve, the less crimes you have in the future because very few people proportionally in your community commit most of the crime," Axtell explains.
Minneapolis is coming off a week where there were two mass shootings Sunday, plus another shooting in St. Paul where a man shot three people in an apartment leasing office.
Axtell says it's not just about filling open positions though.
"I always used to say when I was chief, I don't want more officers. I want enough officers, making sure that police departments can have hire the heart and train the mind, so to speak," Axtell adds.
