You and I are in alignment an overwhelming majority of time. Maybe 80 or 90% :-)
I now better understand one of our areas of dissent. You view guns as a root cause of crime. They are a symptom of root causes to be mitigated. Not the the cause itself .
Of course there are negative outcomes with guns I am not ignoring that. But they are not a root cause of crime.
Hi Paul, I don’t see guns as a root cause of crime, but I do think their widespread availability increases the chances that a crime will result in serious injury or death. It also puts police in a tough position—knowing that a weapon could be present in any situation means they have to stay armed and approach every interaction with caution.
Speaking about crime, to have any hope of helping, have to break it down.
Lots of crimes do not involve firearms, but can be very serious, and in terms on the thousands of auto thefts and auto burglaries, like we see here in Mpls, ALL of that changes a place and a people.
There are crimes that people do support a habit, crimes that kids do, just because they can, but they may not continue to do it once confronted with a hard stop. Crimes were the mentally ill get a hold of hand guns, and kids too, and so we are now seeing parents being charged in this type of negligence, which I am in favor of.
I have always been in favor of gun control laws, but I am also that person who could be witnessing a gun related crime and hoping someone nearby, licensed to carry AND trained, shows up to stop the person, in the event the police are not there yet. So..we have to tease this out a bit more, and break it all down, since the topic of crime, and all the categories and sub categories, (why do they do it, why is this happening) is huge. Lethal weapons, of ANY kind, are only part of a bigger discussion.
I spent two Minnesota legislative sessions in the room while solving crime, reducing crime, gun safety, and social justice issues were being discussed and legislated. These are huge societal issues that can't really be unpacked in a substack article. The reforms were meaningful and real; and you cannot begin to understand the pushback Mary Moriarti is getting under her attempts to turn the curve on criminal justice issues! It's really a lose/lose for her, but I applaud her attempts. Generations of black and brown kids grow up without a father or a father model. They have no idea how to behave in a socially responsible ways because they've never been taught how to behave. Turning to gangs and guns is their natural choice. Just this one issue alone is huge! Gun safety was so contentious during Session, it barely came away with a single tweak. I got to meet prisoners who follow legislative progress on a daily basis. They're real people -- they certainly aren't the monsters that some like to characterize them as. We're talking about four or more decades of intense, multi-faceted work to create an urban environment where everyone can walk in and around the community without fear of harm or death by gun violence. Meanwhile, it's been five years since the murder of George Floyd and the Administration is overturning the Consent Decree. That's not what I call progress. The state of Minnesota continues to be held accountable under the Human Rights Consent Decree. Mayor Frey says the work will continue with or without the assistance of the DOJ. That's something to celebrate. Happy Memorial Day, friends.
The far left seems focused exclusively on police malfeasance. If only it would disappear, in their eyes, everything in the world would be hunky dory for marginalized communities.
The reality is that police killings represent less than 10% of the homicides of Black folks, e.g. Eliminating police killings altogether—including those that are justified—wouldn’t result in a perceptible drop in Black homicide rate. Despite being only 18% of the population in Mpls, Black people are 65% of the homicide victims, and represent 76% of known offenders. Police killings get all the press, but they remain comparatively rare. Unjustified killings like George Floyd are exceptionally rare.
Nobody wants police to be judge, jury and executioner. Fix that. But if we want to make a meaningful impact for marginalized communities, at some point we’re going to need to address underlying societal problems. The police cannot do that on their own.
I don't often differ with the creator of the highly valued Better Minneapolis, but I am always at odds with those who feel we need to take the most complex, circuitous route to crime prevention; fix all or most of society's ills and crime will drop. I concede there is basic truth to that, but another great and fast way to fight crime is to. . .fight crime. It's reported that crime and/or violence is markedly down on the north side. Does anyone think that's because the GDP, income level and living standards dramatically increased there last year. I put it down largely to that there have been large, visible arrest sweeps. The signal was sent that north will no longer be a good place to do bad business. (Meanwhile, central south is plagued. What's the elected leadership tone in that sector compared to Ward 4?) In some of our policy decisions, we've turned the three-strike rule on its head. We almost seem to recruit and encourage young criminals that crime is a career choice. And if you fail the first time, you'll be given a second or third chance. After that, it seems you've washed out and maybe should learn a different trade. . . now that it's probably too late and you wasted your formative developmental years learning other `skills,'' like the fractions for returning the most profit from a kilo. Yes, we should have been teaching trades and other avenues for decades. I'd like a word with MPS and other education systems; it DOES have to be a multi-prong approach, offering off-ramps to the dead ends. (Their own death, probably.) If some promising kid clearly made a bad choice of joining a wrong crowd, or was trapped, of course there is redemption potential. But we just have to send a message more strongly and early that the old armed robbery occupation (or far worse) may have life-long damaging effects, not impart that `It's OK. Not your fault. It's just a crashed Kia. Try again'' I know that SOUNDS like a compassionate approach. Is it really? Would you want that to be the societal message for your child, nephew (or niece) or grandchild? Busting up crime gangs that offer a sense of security for wrong doing is a great start to shrinking the recruiting class. I think some lone wolf with bad ideas may be far less bold about being an independent contract killer.
This is the most clear and concise assessment of what we all need to do together to SOLVE our complicated situation and to make change. As Lillie, a consultant I interacted with this week said “Our work needs to be clear enough to edit” to make sure we discuss the issue and set an action-oriented plan to get it done.
Agree, a serious approach is required, but it is not all that complicated, with respect to crimes being committed by juveniles.
Maybe people do not know this because of who they ran with, or did not work on the field where one had regular contact with juveniles who were JUST OUT, but crime, especially when committed as a group, can be fun and even exciting, and I say this regardless of the socio economic level these kids come from. Middle income and wealthy kids commit crimes too. The difference for them is that typically, but not always, there are more guardrails in place....until, the kids are in a better state of mind...OLDER, and can make different decisions for themselves, those they care about/ or should, and their communities.
What GOOD THINGS do police do being out at all hours for a community? They NOTICE THINGS, like WHO else is out at all hours. Yes, kids can switch up their patterns when being out at 3 AM is to risky, but we should start simply with overnight hours, and have these kids repeatedly gathered up on curfew violations. Public Safety staffing levels are critical to this, but surprising how fast word gets around...
" busted AGAIN on curfew, ( bummer, so limited look outs available to carry out the crimes) "
Functional adults, IN home, are of course are necessary, and minding the shop, and WHERE it all starts, but by consistently enforcing our curfew laws now, we can ALSO determine what may be happening in the home, as these tough, awkward, but necessary conversations unfold, at the stoop or downtown at the detention center.
* And of course the huge missing piece for Mpls, the County and State's failure to provide adequate secure and unsecure residential placements for the serious and/ or repeat offenders.
In MN, which has roughly the same population as Colorado, with probably more serious crimes committed by juveniles here in MN, we have very few secure placement options, unlike places like Colorado. Why is that?! This is both a county AND a state problem to solve. We should immediately turn our attention to juvenile crime in Hennepin County, and the residential programs available.
For Colorado...excerpt from Strib link below.
Key word.." secure." "The Division of Youth Services (DYS), which operates 15 secure facilities for minors around the state, employs a restorative justice coordinator to help identify service projects on and off campus for kids committed to their care.
Regarding Chief O'Hara, these two lines are every thing for me.
"His current contract expires at the end of 2025. The election in November could very well determine his fate. "
Just as an observer, I would say that given the situation we have here in Mpls, and I would agree with O'Hara that a specific element of this is quite bizarre, with a very active Anti Police faction on our City Council and community groups that still lean very much dismantle/ abolish and even more generally, just" hate a cop" why would O'Hara choose to stay on in Mpls?!
If our Council does not get REMADE in 2026, (and is much less DSA aligned) and while it would be a huge bummer for Mpls, for O'Hara's sake, I do hope he makes the decision to move on to some place that truly appreciates his efforts, which have been quite remarkable. This next local election will fully demonstrate what kind of place Minneapolis is.
An except from a while back...
His plans
O’Hara promised to build a police department “so good, so respected, that people of all races and backgrounds will want to be a part of this positive change.”
But he arrived in Minneapolis and found what he has called a hopeless, demoralized, traumatized, numb department, passively reacting to calls “like we were the fire department.” One cop told an Indigenous leader that MPD officers were taking a “hands-off” approach to policing, allowing open-air drug dealing, to avoid a confrontation that could spark protests.
O’Hara told PBS that Minneapolis police officers had “experienced an incredible amount of trauma” and were fearful.
“And so, to some degree, while people were leaving the job, I think there was definitely, on some level, a retreat from doing police work, from doing proactive police work,” he said.
Unfortunately it was not the actual death of George Floyd that caused the call to action to create change but the fact that it was filmed and live streamed by a cleaver and brave young girl. But for her and her actions it would of been just one more death. The fact that some of these same poor policing actions are still causing injury and death imply that we have still not figured out the true problem or solution yet. One would think that the deterant of loosing everything would be enough but it is not.
The problem was stated to be systemic so why are we just looking at the policing side? Was the phrase just lip service to make us more complaint or do we as a society need to look inward as well? I think we need to do better at teaching all people to want to learn, that they are clever, valuable and needed in society. We need to dispell the newfound belief that says we have the right to break the law if no one sees or catches us, to say it is not acceptable to take just because we want or to hurt just because we hurt.
So much of the rhetoric is meant to separate and creat dislike amongst us. Everyone says "off course it doesn't mean that" but in reality that is what is being said and that is what many people believe. Do we really have to relearn that we are all stronger together than appart. We need to relearn the art of compromise, to know what is worth having is worth waiting and working for. To understand that forgiveness has to be given not just accepted. This does not mean forget, it means not letting go of the anger and putting the energy into creating something better. We have become something of value to ourselves and the community, pride has to come from within because it creates inner strength.
I want a government that not only believes but tells tells us we are clever, strong and useful instead treating us like we are weak and needy. Sometimes we fall and need help but there is also a time to give back. We are island's without the interchange and there is impowerment in giving. Some how we have to get past the us vs them and just become us as a whole.
“Will You Keep O’Hara as Police Chief if Elected?” I was profoundly effected by this question. I had no idea there was a potential change to his leadership in this election cycle. Lots of great comments from this article and lots to unpack but one thing most people can agree on, we are incredibly lucky to have Police Chief O'Hara in charge of the Minneapolis Police Department and need to do everything we can to ensure he is kept in place to continue the incredibly thankless work he and his fellow officers who have stayed to protect our communities have been doing on behalf of the citizens of Minneapolis.
Please ask all elected officials if given the opportunity "Will You Kepp O'Hara as Police Chief if Elected?"
Thanks Terry as always for continuing to write and keep all of us engaged in thinking about our city, where it has been and where it is going in the future. We all get to play an important part if we choose too. Onward and Upward!
Hi Terry
You and I are in alignment an overwhelming majority of time. Maybe 80 or 90% :-)
I now better understand one of our areas of dissent. You view guns as a root cause of crime. They are a symptom of root causes to be mitigated. Not the the cause itself .
Of course there are negative outcomes with guns I am not ignoring that. But they are not a root cause of crime.
Paul
Hi Paul, I don’t see guns as a root cause of crime, but I do think their widespread availability increases the chances that a crime will result in serious injury or death. It also puts police in a tough position—knowing that a weapon could be present in any situation means they have to stay armed and approach every interaction with caution.
Speaking about crime, to have any hope of helping, have to break it down.
Lots of crimes do not involve firearms, but can be very serious, and in terms on the thousands of auto thefts and auto burglaries, like we see here in Mpls, ALL of that changes a place and a people.
There are crimes that people do support a habit, crimes that kids do, just because they can, but they may not continue to do it once confronted with a hard stop. Crimes were the mentally ill get a hold of hand guns, and kids too, and so we are now seeing parents being charged in this type of negligence, which I am in favor of.
I have always been in favor of gun control laws, but I am also that person who could be witnessing a gun related crime and hoping someone nearby, licensed to carry AND trained, shows up to stop the person, in the event the police are not there yet. So..we have to tease this out a bit more, and break it all down, since the topic of crime, and all the categories and sub categories, (why do they do it, why is this happening) is huge. Lethal weapons, of ANY kind, are only part of a bigger discussion.
Ps, when you get a couple minutes check this out. You might find it interesting:
https://theconversation.com/guns-in-america-a-liberal-gun-owning-sociologist-offers-5-observations-to-understand-americas-culture-of-firearms-251084
I spent two Minnesota legislative sessions in the room while solving crime, reducing crime, gun safety, and social justice issues were being discussed and legislated. These are huge societal issues that can't really be unpacked in a substack article. The reforms were meaningful and real; and you cannot begin to understand the pushback Mary Moriarti is getting under her attempts to turn the curve on criminal justice issues! It's really a lose/lose for her, but I applaud her attempts. Generations of black and brown kids grow up without a father or a father model. They have no idea how to behave in a socially responsible ways because they've never been taught how to behave. Turning to gangs and guns is their natural choice. Just this one issue alone is huge! Gun safety was so contentious during Session, it barely came away with a single tweak. I got to meet prisoners who follow legislative progress on a daily basis. They're real people -- they certainly aren't the monsters that some like to characterize them as. We're talking about four or more decades of intense, multi-faceted work to create an urban environment where everyone can walk in and around the community without fear of harm or death by gun violence. Meanwhile, it's been five years since the murder of George Floyd and the Administration is overturning the Consent Decree. That's not what I call progress. The state of Minnesota continues to be held accountable under the Human Rights Consent Decree. Mayor Frey says the work will continue with or without the assistance of the DOJ. That's something to celebrate. Happy Memorial Day, friends.
The far left seems focused exclusively on police malfeasance. If only it would disappear, in their eyes, everything in the world would be hunky dory for marginalized communities.
The reality is that police killings represent less than 10% of the homicides of Black folks, e.g. Eliminating police killings altogether—including those that are justified—wouldn’t result in a perceptible drop in Black homicide rate. Despite being only 18% of the population in Mpls, Black people are 65% of the homicide victims, and represent 76% of known offenders. Police killings get all the press, but they remain comparatively rare. Unjustified killings like George Floyd are exceptionally rare.
Nobody wants police to be judge, jury and executioner. Fix that. But if we want to make a meaningful impact for marginalized communities, at some point we’re going to need to address underlying societal problems. The police cannot do that on their own.
I don't often differ with the creator of the highly valued Better Minneapolis, but I am always at odds with those who feel we need to take the most complex, circuitous route to crime prevention; fix all or most of society's ills and crime will drop. I concede there is basic truth to that, but another great and fast way to fight crime is to. . .fight crime. It's reported that crime and/or violence is markedly down on the north side. Does anyone think that's because the GDP, income level and living standards dramatically increased there last year. I put it down largely to that there have been large, visible arrest sweeps. The signal was sent that north will no longer be a good place to do bad business. (Meanwhile, central south is plagued. What's the elected leadership tone in that sector compared to Ward 4?) In some of our policy decisions, we've turned the three-strike rule on its head. We almost seem to recruit and encourage young criminals that crime is a career choice. And if you fail the first time, you'll be given a second or third chance. After that, it seems you've washed out and maybe should learn a different trade. . . now that it's probably too late and you wasted your formative developmental years learning other `skills,'' like the fractions for returning the most profit from a kilo. Yes, we should have been teaching trades and other avenues for decades. I'd like a word with MPS and other education systems; it DOES have to be a multi-prong approach, offering off-ramps to the dead ends. (Their own death, probably.) If some promising kid clearly made a bad choice of joining a wrong crowd, or was trapped, of course there is redemption potential. But we just have to send a message more strongly and early that the old armed robbery occupation (or far worse) may have life-long damaging effects, not impart that `It's OK. Not your fault. It's just a crashed Kia. Try again'' I know that SOUNDS like a compassionate approach. Is it really? Would you want that to be the societal message for your child, nephew (or niece) or grandchild? Busting up crime gangs that offer a sense of security for wrong doing is a great start to shrinking the recruiting class. I think some lone wolf with bad ideas may be far less bold about being an independent contract killer.
This is the most clear and concise assessment of what we all need to do together to SOLVE our complicated situation and to make change. As Lillie, a consultant I interacted with this week said “Our work needs to be clear enough to edit” to make sure we discuss the issue and set an action-oriented plan to get it done.
News report from a few months back on the Curfew Task Force
https://youtu.be/82sg5pgszUg?si=ezUACkqwBYPn_y9e
Agree, a serious approach is required, but it is not all that complicated, with respect to crimes being committed by juveniles.
Maybe people do not know this because of who they ran with, or did not work on the field where one had regular contact with juveniles who were JUST OUT, but crime, especially when committed as a group, can be fun and even exciting, and I say this regardless of the socio economic level these kids come from. Middle income and wealthy kids commit crimes too. The difference for them is that typically, but not always, there are more guardrails in place....until, the kids are in a better state of mind...OLDER, and can make different decisions for themselves, those they care about/ or should, and their communities.
What GOOD THINGS do police do being out at all hours for a community? They NOTICE THINGS, like WHO else is out at all hours. Yes, kids can switch up their patterns when being out at 3 AM is to risky, but we should start simply with overnight hours, and have these kids repeatedly gathered up on curfew violations. Public Safety staffing levels are critical to this, but surprising how fast word gets around...
" busted AGAIN on curfew, ( bummer, so limited look outs available to carry out the crimes) "
Functional adults, IN home, are of course are necessary, and minding the shop, and WHERE it all starts, but by consistently enforcing our curfew laws now, we can ALSO determine what may be happening in the home, as these tough, awkward, but necessary conversations unfold, at the stoop or downtown at the detention center.
* And of course the huge missing piece for Mpls, the County and State's failure to provide adequate secure and unsecure residential placements for the serious and/ or repeat offenders.
In MN, which has roughly the same population as Colorado, with probably more serious crimes committed by juveniles here in MN, we have very few secure placement options, unlike places like Colorado. Why is that?! This is both a county AND a state problem to solve. We should immediately turn our attention to juvenile crime in Hennepin County, and the residential programs available.
For Colorado...excerpt from Strib link below.
Key word.." secure." "The Division of Youth Services (DYS), which operates 15 secure facilities for minors around the state, employs a restorative justice coordinator to help identify service projects on and off campus for kids committed to their care.
https://www.startribune.com/juvenile-youth-justice-system-reform-minnesota-colorado/600237479/
Regarding Chief O'Hara, these two lines are every thing for me.
"His current contract expires at the end of 2025. The election in November could very well determine his fate. "
Just as an observer, I would say that given the situation we have here in Mpls, and I would agree with O'Hara that a specific element of this is quite bizarre, with a very active Anti Police faction on our City Council and community groups that still lean very much dismantle/ abolish and even more generally, just" hate a cop" why would O'Hara choose to stay on in Mpls?!
If our Council does not get REMADE in 2026, (and is much less DSA aligned) and while it would be a huge bummer for Mpls, for O'Hara's sake, I do hope he makes the decision to move on to some place that truly appreciates his efforts, which have been quite remarkable. This next local election will fully demonstrate what kind of place Minneapolis is.
An except from a while back...
His plans
O’Hara promised to build a police department “so good, so respected, that people of all races and backgrounds will want to be a part of this positive change.”
But he arrived in Minneapolis and found what he has called a hopeless, demoralized, traumatized, numb department, passively reacting to calls “like we were the fire department.” One cop told an Indigenous leader that MPD officers were taking a “hands-off” approach to policing, allowing open-air drug dealing, to avoid a confrontation that could spark protests.
O’Hara told PBS that Minneapolis police officers had “experienced an incredible amount of trauma” and were fearful.
“And so, to some degree, while people were leaving the job, I think there was definitely, on some level, a retreat from doing police work, from doing proactive police work,” he said.
Unfortunately it was not the actual death of George Floyd that caused the call to action to create change but the fact that it was filmed and live streamed by a cleaver and brave young girl. But for her and her actions it would of been just one more death. The fact that some of these same poor policing actions are still causing injury and death imply that we have still not figured out the true problem or solution yet. One would think that the deterant of loosing everything would be enough but it is not.
The problem was stated to be systemic so why are we just looking at the policing side? Was the phrase just lip service to make us more complaint or do we as a society need to look inward as well? I think we need to do better at teaching all people to want to learn, that they are clever, valuable and needed in society. We need to dispell the newfound belief that says we have the right to break the law if no one sees or catches us, to say it is not acceptable to take just because we want or to hurt just because we hurt.
So much of the rhetoric is meant to separate and creat dislike amongst us. Everyone says "off course it doesn't mean that" but in reality that is what is being said and that is what many people believe. Do we really have to relearn that we are all stronger together than appart. We need to relearn the art of compromise, to know what is worth having is worth waiting and working for. To understand that forgiveness has to be given not just accepted. This does not mean forget, it means not letting go of the anger and putting the energy into creating something better. We have become something of value to ourselves and the community, pride has to come from within because it creates inner strength.
Key phrase.." NEEDED in society."
"I think we need to do better at teaching all people to want to learn, that they are clever, valuable, and needed in society. :
I want a government that not only believes but tells tells us we are clever, strong and useful instead treating us like we are weak and needy. Sometimes we fall and need help but there is also a time to give back. We are island's without the interchange and there is impowerment in giving. Some how we have to get past the us vs them and just become us as a whole.
“Will You Keep O’Hara as Police Chief if Elected?” I was profoundly effected by this question. I had no idea there was a potential change to his leadership in this election cycle. Lots of great comments from this article and lots to unpack but one thing most people can agree on, we are incredibly lucky to have Police Chief O'Hara in charge of the Minneapolis Police Department and need to do everything we can to ensure he is kept in place to continue the incredibly thankless work he and his fellow officers who have stayed to protect our communities have been doing on behalf of the citizens of Minneapolis.
Please ask all elected officials if given the opportunity "Will You Kepp O'Hara as Police Chief if Elected?"
Thanks Terry as always for continuing to write and keep all of us engaged in thinking about our city, where it has been and where it is going in the future. We all get to play an important part if we choose too. Onward and Upward!