Mayor Jacob Frey’s Community Safety Work Group outlines strategies for improving public safety, police accountability in Minneapolis

On June 27, Mayor Jacob Frey’s Community Safety Work Group outlined recommendations for improving public safety in Minneapolis. The recommendations include strategies for strengthening oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), bolstering officer recruitment efforts and accountability systems, and expanding violence prevention and behavioral crisis response programs.

Frey convened the Community Safety Work Group on Dec. 4, 2021, which is co-chaired by Nekima Levy Armstrong, attorney and civil rights activist, and Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis, lead minister for Plymouth Congregational Church. The 22-member volunteer work group includes community members and experts engaged on the full spectrum of community safety initiatives. Highlights of the work group’s recommendations include:

• Improving oversight and coordination within MPD, including creating a new leadership position focused on the coordination of community safety related functions within the City enterprise.
• Strengthening MPD’s recruitment and hiring process by implementing a first-in-class police recruitment and training program focused on building a pipeline of future candidates who live in Minneapolis.
• Significantly improving the quality of MPD training with a series of action steps.
• Strengthening MPD’s disciplinary and accountability systems.
• Expanding violence prevention programs and the City’s behavioral crisis response strategy. 

Mayor Frey will consider the implementation of these recommendations in the coming weeks as he prepares to finalize and present his recommended 2023 City budget.
Read the Community Safety Work Group’s report.
Watch Monday's news conference.