An inner-city high school? The University of Minnesota.
Parents are demanding the way safety is handled around the University of Minnesota change before students return this fall.
Crime has risen 45 percent in nearby neighborhoods over the last four years.
Why might that be? There was the extensive police defunding movement and the general culture of BLM-fed pro-crime lawlessness.
These are the consequences.
Brian Peck, a parent who says he started a nonprofit called Campus Safety Coalition, shared at the forum something his son’s said to him.
‘Mom and Dad, do you know that every single day I wake up to go to class I’m scared for my life? I don’t know if I’m going to get mugged, shot or beaten up,’ Peck said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey attended the forum, along with Minneapolis Police Interim Chief Amelia Huffman and University of Minnesota Police Chief Matt Clark.
We need to be relying more on technology and have invested millions of dollars in cameras to make sure that whether it’s investigative or preemptive/prevention work, we can have cameras set up, Frey said.
Cameras aren’t going to arrest or lock anyone up. But let’s recall that the ballot measure to begin dismantling the police failed by a narrow 54-43 margin. And it wasn’t all that long ago that Frey was being booed for refusing to immediately defund the police.
The city and university are also recruiting for depleted police forces with increased salaries and retention bonuses.
We adjust the work that we do based on crime trends and crime patterns, and that does include enforcement activity, but it tends to be focused more on serious crime and serious offenders, Huffman said.
Collaboration between MPD and campus police was emphasized, and many parents at the meeting felt more positive rhetoric surrounding officers would help in hiring.
What a difference a little 45% increase in crime makes.
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