MINNEAPOLIS — Policing has become the most pressing topic in Minneapolis this summer, following the killing of George Floyd on the evening of Memorial Day.
The discussion has become even more complicated in the backdrop of rising homicide totals, which have nearly doubled in 2020 compared to this point last year. It is, no doubt, a troubling sign to people who work day and night to keep the peace, such as V.J. Smith of MAD DADS.
“We’re finding a lot of people that just… they need help,” Smith said. “They need more than just law enforcement. They need people to show them how to get resources.”
Smith said his group, and others like it, have filled somewhat of a void in the community lately. With staffing issues reported at the Minneapolis Police Department after George Floyd’s death and the ensuing unrest, some neighborhoods have complained that they aren’t being covered with adequate patrols.
“What we’ve seen is, a small number of officers that are trying their best to create calm in our city. Citizens that are stepping up to make our streets safer,” Smith said. “We have families that feel very unsafe, because sometimes the response time is slow.”
In addition to George Floyd’s killing, the year 2020 has been challenging for everyone with the COVID-19 pandemic. Minneapolis Police have also reported a significant increase in the number of guns on the streets, which will “absolutely” surpass 2019 totals, according to comments from Chief Medaria Arradondo at a virtual city council meeting two weeks ago.
The killings have occurred largely in the Fourth Precinct, which covers North Minneapolis, and the Third Precinct near the site of George Floyd’s death. In the Fourth Precinct, homicides are up nearly 46 percent compared to the five-year average, while the Third Precinct has seen a 150-percent increase.
Notably, however, killings have not spiked in the First Precinct covering downtown Minneapolis. After garnering headlines last summer over concerns from businesses and residents, overall violent crime in that precinct has dropped 12 percent to date in 2020, according to police data.
“What we see on the news,” Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association Chairperson Pam McCrea said, “is not always what we’re feeling.”
Of course, there is some complexity and nuance to the situation downtown. In the “Downtown West” neighborhood, total violent crime in 2020 compared to the past five years has decreased by 30 percent. In the “Downtown East” neighborhood, however – which encompasses the Guthrie, the Stone Arch Bridge, and U.S. Bank Stadium – total violent crime has increased nearly 116 percent. The numbers might seem slightly more dramatic because Downtown East is normally a low-crime area, but it has still become a concern.
The homelessness issue that has manifested across Minneapolis has also reached this area of downtown, and may be driving some of the crime in that neighborhood, according to McCrea.
“We had several tents, much problems with drugs in Common Parks which now, I think, has been resolved. We do have, more homeless than we’ve seen,” McCrea said. “I think the whole community is just a bit stretched.”
The Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association is working with Mad Dads and V.J. Smith on solutions – and they’re using lessons that apply across the city when dealing with young people.
“We don’t treat them like criminals or villains,” Smith said. “We treat them like our kids and we ask them to try to be respectful.”