Hello Minneapolis Folks,
I watched the report last night as well. The story is very important, but the tone of Olson's comments made me a bit suspicious of his desire in solving the problem. I have a lot of issues with the way the news sensationalizes so many investigative reports, to create drama in an effort to rope the viewers into watching the news. Are they just pumping up ratings or interested in solving the problem. (But hay, it worked, I watched last night)
Here are several interesting questions that the reporter could have asked.
1) What are Minneapolis Police Departments Administrative cost's versus St. Paul and the first ring suburbs?
2) How has Minneapolis debt impacted our ability to keep police versus St. Paul (a problem the current Mayor and Council inherited)?
3) Crime is down in Minneapolis and many other places, but Minneapolis has historically had more crime issues to deal with then other communities in our state, which creates a variety of additional costs that other cities do not have to deal with. The report talked about the specializing in particular areas. Does St. Louis Park, Richfield, Edina, Golden Valley have as many specialized departments as Minneapolis?
Ken Bradley Corcoran Neighborhood
the number of police officers (160) the City of Minneapolis has cut since
1997. The most interesting part was that while everyone blames state and
federal cuts (the Clinton cops) for the loss, the reporter pointed out that
the surrounding suburbs had not cut cops and that St. Paul had actually
added five during that same time frame. The only official on camera was
Robert Olson trying to explain it and finally said, "You're asking the wrong
person that question."
Me:
the number of police officers (160) the City of Minneapolis has cut since
1997. The most interesting part was that while everyone blames state and
federal cuts (the Clinton cops) for the loss, the reporter pointed out that
the surrounding suburbs had not cut cops and that St. Paul had actually
added five during that same time frame. The only official on camera was
Robert Olson trying to explain it and finally said, "You're asking the wrong
person that question."
Me:
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