Minneapolis City Council Candidates: Ward 3

Michael Rainville

For Public Safety I support attacking the underlying causes of crime such as housing insecurity, lack of economic opportunity, mental health and addiction issues, and lack of resources for youth. Along with investing in those services and resources, I want to see a police force that is adequately staffed to allow a return to community policing, as well as having the ability to enforce traffic laws and investigate serious crimes. We need to ensure we use all the tools available to us. 

I want to ensure safety for those who are afraid to call 911 concerned about what may happen to them. I want to see strong reforms such as ongoing training for implicit bias and de-escalation. I want to expand our co-responder program to better serve our neighbors under mental distress. We need to be intentional about hiring officers from our city, especially our BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.  Women are still under-represented in the public safety community and I would work with women’s organizations to influence change wherever needed to bring more women into these professions. I will also ensure existing reforms are better enforced, such as the ban on warrior training, as well as making sure we are tracking disciplinary issues more closely.