Report: Minneapolis Neighbors Raise $210K for Extra Police Patrols

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 04: A member of the Minneapolis Police Department speaks into h
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Amy Furr

Neighbors with the Minneapolis Safety Initiative reportedly won a contract for $210,000 for more police patrols as crime plagued the area.

The MinnPost reported Thursday:

The Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) “buyback” program is a contractual agreement between the city and an external organization or group in which the organization secures extra police presence and patrols by paying for officer overtime hours. The funding sources for the agreements have included state and federal grants, sports teams and venues wanting extra security for events, and neighborhood and business organizations. The contracts go to the city council for approval before officers can volunteer to sign up to work the extra hours.

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The Lowry Hill neighborhood, through a nonprofit called the Minneapolis Safety Initiative created by the neighborhood’s residents, secured a contract with the city earlier this year for $210,000 in extra police patrols at $107 per hour worked by an officer, starting Jan. 17 and running through Dec. 31.

The initiative’s website said MPD was suffering from a staffing shortage. Therefore, criminal incidents including armed carjackings, and armed robberies, have “increased dramatically.”

“Our goal is to increase safety for all residents and visitors. MPD will use its professional judgment to deploy officers at times and places to have maximum impact. Actual shifts will depend on funds raised and officer availability,” the site read.

In June 2020, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a pledge to try and replace the police department with a “community-led public safety system,” Breitbart News reported.

The news came “amid a pressure campaign spearheaded by Black Lives Matter activists and far-left Democrats to defund law enforcement in the wake of protests and riots over George Floyd’s death,” the outlet said.

In February of last year, Minneapolis prepared to spend $6.4 million to hire dozens of officers while some council members and activists kept trying to replace the department.

A few months before, the city council voted to slash $8 million from the police budget.

In addition, the Minneapolis Safety Initiative mentioned another group called the Northside Achievement Zone.

The website said, “the neighbors leading this initiative are working on various fronts to push for increased deployment of law enforcement officers in all city neighborhoods.”

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