There's no mystery to crime figures or even offense addresses. All is available to the public. With the exception of the Mayor and CCM's offices, no one on the list has called me or my office directly for information. Call me at 612-673-3587. Or use the city's web site. Here is the link to MPLS crime statistics http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-statistics/. It is a web site which posts crime figures for each month and also has neighborhood statistics. It's not as timely as the information that is available to police managers, they need it to make tactical decisions, but it is one source to measure the amount of reported crime within your area of concern. The public library, FBI, and BCA also have copies. You need only ask.
Citizens should have greater access to these numbers as they are important an indicator of the perceived quality of life one neighborhood has over another or a temporal comparison. My overall goal is to make this information as available and transparent as possible. But there are some pitfalls to avoid. Review the following information on this site http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crimealert/crimestat.asp. Attempts to expand accessibly have been stalled because of the lack of funding. Barring city and citizen priorities changes, there will not be an expansion of this service until I find adequate funding. Again, call me or my staff for more urgent information. As for the number of police officers, the discussion should not succumb to fear-mongering or its' politics. Indeed, the city has fewer cops than it use to employ. But crime is not completely dependent upon the number of cops. Some crime rate fluctuation occurs when numbers of cops rise or fall and is due to the opportunity an officer presents to a citizen to report a crime. More cops, more opportunities to report every slight. Fewer cops, fewer reporting options. There is a greater correlation with crime and the population of young males between the ages of 10 to 20. Perhaps a list member is an epidemiologist to provide some supporting information to suggest that this population group has significantly declined since the mid 90's., as has reported crime. How many cops are enough? The short answer is enough to make you feel safe. But is it correct to assume that fewer cops mean inadequate staffing. How many cops are too many? The short answer is there should be enough to make you feel free. In between there is a delicate balance between safety and freedom. Given the current economic positions the city has staked out for the future (some by choice, other by decree), polices services will need to be crafted to police smarter, not just more. The 5-year business plan outlines that strategy. There will be some services that will not be provided in the same fashion or amount. Choices have been made based in part by statistics, and citizen expectations. Sometime they do not meet at the same level. However, to ignore the contributions of citizens would be fool-hardy. Indeed the mission of the police should include community building, in part to rebuild or create neighborhood institutions. To paraphrase Sir Robert Peel, founder of Metropolitan Police, '"the police are the public and the public are the police.." We're in this together. Gregory Reinhardt Knuckle dragging on the keyboard Excelsior REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
