6-year-old Aniya Allen was recently shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota – the third child to be shot in three weeks, and the 20th this year. Mayor Jacob Frey laid out a “new” safety plan to prevent gun violence … but it’s looking pretty stale.
His plan includes: throwing money into police training, more officers, and more cameras. This isn’t surprising, though – Frey and Minneapolis’ police chief worked with a PR consultant to “sway public opinion and the City Council against [police] budget cuts!”
However, Minneapolis mental health experts and leaders say their city’s 21% rise in violent crime is actually because of the COVID-19 pandemic – which led to a 25% increase in poverty for Black residents.
More police spending won’t help – a 2020 Washington Post study found that there’s “no correlation nationally between [police] spending and crime rates.”
20,000+ Minneapolitans signed a “Yes 4 Minneapolis” petition for a community-oriented approach to public safety. A volunteer group formed “21 Days of Peace,” monitoring “gun-fire hotspots” to offer conflict resolution and resources. And “MinneapolUS” Strategic Outreach follows a model that’s reduced shootings by over 50% in cities like New York and Baltimore.
Mayor Frey, why not put that money here?
We can't put more children at risk over "solutions" that DON’T work. Isn’t it worth trying something new and community-oriented, to save our kids?