Tom Anderson
I support the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to allow the people of Minneapolis to have direct control over the future of public safety in our city. My priority is ensuring we have a detailed, comprehensive plan for what comes next.
There are a number of solutions the city council should explore, including but not limited to:
- Increasing community engagement
- Creating co-responder units with mental health professionals for mental health crisis
- Establishing unarmed traffic safety units for non-violent traffic violations
- Creating social worker units for non-violent calls to provide trauma-informed care for people experiencing homelessness, mental health barriers, and/or substance abuse disorder
- Increasing accountability and oversight by reforming the police Conduct and Oversight Committee so members are compensated for their labor, meet more frequently and with additional community and municipal stakeholders, have greater access to use of force incident reports, and engage in more detailed analysis of force, ticketing, and arrest data
- Decreasing use of force incidents by updating the use of force policy to ensure choke holds are never used and to require de-escalation techniques be used before a use of a force takes place
- Incentivizing hiring officers within our communities
- Investing in programs to connect officers to communities
- Officers holding their own liability insurance
- Holding officers to a higher standard by requiring Continuing Education Units (CEU) programs to renew officer eligibility for active duty, this would ensure officers are educated on new laws, use of force, de-escalation, racial bias, etc.
- Creating pathways for restorative justice
In summary, I believe we need a fully inclusive, interdisciplinary approach that centers the voices of those who have historically been the most harmed coupled with outreach to our neighbors across Minneapolis and collaboration with city workers at all levels, public safety experts, local business owners, community leaders, organizations, organizers, and activists. We need all hands on deck to develop the best possible solution that will root out the systemic racism that has perpetuated our systems for far too long and create a new system that truly keeps everyone safe. I’m optimistic that with this approach, we can develop an entirely new blueprint of public safety and be a success story that cities across our country can use for generations to come.
Robin Wonsley Worbolah
My vision for public safety includes new city department with a large workforce of union employees: mental health workers, social workers, substance abuse counselors, and sexual violence counselors, all of whom prioritize the safety and wellness needs of residents.
As we build this new department, we must scale back our armed police force, providing mental-health and job-transition resources to former officers to reintegrate them into our communities and prevent them from causing further harm. We must demilitarize the police department, eliminate training that encourages officers to respond with deadly force to nonviolent situations, dismiss any officers with connections to white supremacist groups, and establish mechanisms for democratic civilian control of over all public safety workers. You can read my full public safety plan here: https://robinformpls.com/public-safety-plan