On Monday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced a new officer health and wellness initiative in addition to an updated discipline matrix for disciplining officer misconduct.
The changes are being put in place as a continued effort from the City of Minneapolis to reform the Minneapolis Police Department, according to a press release from the city.
The city continued in its release, saying that the reforms will focus on transparency and how accountable practices will best serve the city.
Frey shared in the release that his office has continued to work on reforming the MPD over the past two years, and this is a continuation of those efforts.
"Over the past two years we have pushed forward dozens of police reforms, and we aren't slowing down now," Frey said in the release. "First, officers need to be at their best while on duty, so we are making sure to prioritize adequate rest in between shifts. Additionally, we have updated the discipline matrix to make it clear that officers who need to be held accountable will be held accountable."
Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman also shared in the release that these changes will help officers do a better job.
She said that it is vital for the community that officers are rested so that they can provide the best possible service to the community.
"As an organization, we must invest in our people, our processes, and our policies so that we can provide the public safety services our city needs and be a workplace where our employees will flourish and grow strong careers," Huffman said in the release.
The program includes a limitation on hours that went into effect on May 22 and will now limit the number of hours an officer can work in a week to 74 and the number of consecutive hours to 16.
On top of that, officers will be required to take at least eight consecutive hours off after every 24 hours they work. Also, every week they are required to take a full 24-hour day with no work shifts in any capacity.
The city is also looking at other ways to offer mental health services to officers, including trauma-informed psychological services.
As for the discipline matrix, starting on June 1, it has been updated with a new framework that guides disciplinary decisions in support of a fair, transparent, and consistent system.
According to the release, the updated matrix emphasizes the evaluation of policy violations considering the harm or risk of harm created by the officer's misconduct.
On top of that, it has new changes that add "an entire violation section to clearly identify policy violations that warrant termination and explicitly spelling out a range of discipline for each violation level," the release said.
For the full policy manual, click here.
