Is there light at the end of the tunnel for the Minneapolis Police Department?

KSTP ran a story yesterday citing encouraging information from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey relative to police staffing. According to Mayor Frey, there has been a 45% increase in applicants for police officer vacancies in 2024 over 2023.

Applicants are great, but the question of whether they equate to qualified police officer candidates who accept offers of employment and successfully pass rigorous training and probationary periods remains. The worst thing a police agency can do is lower its hiring standards.

In March 2024 Mayor Frey announced a $1 million dollar “Imagine Yourself” police recruitment campaign, designed to attract young and diverse candidates from a geographical area within 300 miles of Minneapolis. 

The 1,014 applicants so far in 2024 is great news for the police department and city which have struggled to recruit and retain officers, and as a result have also struggled to contain violent crime in our state’s signature city. Much of this struggle can be placed at the feet of the city council which in 2020 overreacted to calls for “social justice” and “reimagining public safety,” and voted unanimously to disband the police department. Calmer voices understood the catastrophe this would create. Fortunately Minneapolis voters rejected the idea as well.

According to sources I’ve spoken within the police department, between 2020 and August 2024, 482 police officers out of nearly 900 had retired or resigned from the Minneapolis Police Department. In August that left approximately 508 active, full duty police officers from Chief Brian O’Hara down to the newest recruit. After staffing investigative units, training, administrative and supervisory positions, that left approximately 200 patrol officers to cover shifts around the clock in the city’s five precincts — a number that is completely inadequate for the call volume and priority level of calls in Minneapolis.

In July 2024 the city settled a new contract with its police officers, agreeing to increase wages by 21% over the three year contract period of 2023 – 2025. On its face this is great news for recruiting, but it will also likely result in another exodus of veteran officers who had been waiting to see how the contract turned out. Some estimates suggest another 100 veteran officers could leave the force by the end of the year now that the contract is settled and they have received back pay for the time they worked without a contract (2023/2024).

In time retention will cease to be an issue. If recruitment continues in a positive direction, there is room for optimism in Minneapolis. That didn’t seem likely a year ago. 

The policy decisions by Mayor Frey, Commissioner of Community Safety Todderick Barnette, and Chief O’Hara to prioritize recruitment and retention have been solid. Given the environment they are operating in – one that remains dominated by activist voices — the efforts of these public safety leaders are worthy of our respect and our support. 

In March, Chief O’Hara made this enthusiastic prediction of the MPD:

“I truly believe that Minneapolis will be the greatest law enforcement comeback story in America.”

For those who live, work, and visit Minneapolis, the future of Minneapolis depends on it.