Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara says his understaffed department’s dependence on outside help is not sustainable and that officers need to be hired.
While crime is down due to federal and local help, O’Hara says he would like 900 sworn officers instead of the 585 the MPD has.
“Everybody is really chipping in to help Minnepaolis right now to turn things around. It’s showing real results. Everybody is rowing in the same direction and not worrying about who gets credit for good things happening,” O’Hara said. “But the bottom line is for a police department this is just not sustainable.”
O’Hara told News Talk 830 WCCO’s Chad Hartman times have changed and there’s no easy solution to the hiring crisis.
Like other major cities, Minneapolis has been struggling with recruitment and retention, a situation that only got worse following the 2020 police killing of George Floyd.
So far this year, the MPD has seen a net loss of 15 officers.
However, O’Hara says the pace of attrition has slowed and they are seeing increases in applications, but the process by which recruits become sworn officers takes too long.
Among cities with similar population sizes, O’Hara says Minneapolis has almost the lowest staffing numbers.
