How about this one: I have heard of programs that insisted people on the public payroll had to live in the city. Ther have been successful programs that subsidized inner city housing for public employees of other cities. Probably this was one of those seven years and it's free programs for at least a substandial down payment on housing, and probably a fix-up fund also.
Wouldn't this be a better outlet for creative fundraising activities? Get the good cops in there, make the housing affordable and attractive, help stabilize the inner city housing, neighborhoods and so on? I like it. This could be coupled with an active recruitment program, retraining programs, background checks, more... Olson could stay or not, but the city would still get good cops on the street and in our neighborhoods in good housisng. Sounds like win-win-win to me. A while back, I suggested that police in non-Metro Miinnesota probably are not going to hassle the local population as much as those in the Metro area, if only because of face to face, day to day contact with the local citizens. I really think Minneapolis would benefit from the same in-the-community living that rural cops have as a matter of course--they pretty much live on Main Street, if you will. I'll just bet that if you and I met Olson on the street, we'd get a fairly decent encounter, because (guess what) he's a public face. It's the cops on the beat that cause trouble, pick up too quick on trouble, hit back first,not Olson. Atmosphere has something to do with it, both the atmosphere in the department and the atmosphere in any single situation, and that calls for new training, different training, perhaps new personnel, but I really don't think administration has all that much to do with it. If people who are always in the middle of it can be identified and tracked, they will be discovered to be a small minority, I'm sure. A small group, however that needs to be identified and encouraged to find another line of work. We have fund raising suggestions for outlets that might not be OK for the city to accept. Maybe the city could better accept escrow funds for cop housing subsidies? (of course it's not as attention grabbing as a buyout street party fundraiser) Emilie Quast SE Como _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
