If quality was really the criteria for hiring police officers then
the Mayor would be insisting that those who grow up and chose to
live in the inner-city of Minneapolis are the first to be hired to
serve us. We need officers who are knowledgeable about the City
and the people in it, as well as dedicated to being "part" of this
City. Even an officer with five or six years of experience
working in Wilmer or Worthington, or any other out state town,
just does not have the experience of a beginning officer who grew
up IN the City. We need officers who are dedicated to our City,
not just to a profession and a job. We need officers who look at
the people they deal with as part of "THEIR" community, not just
as an occupier who does it for a paycheck.
Yes we do need quality police officers, but we also need officers
with a particular knowledge and skill at communicating with our
residents. Officers who because of that identification as an "US"
rather than a "Them" will be accepted, communicated with, and valued.
I have NEVER heard a police officer who grew up in the inner-city
advise people to move out of this terrible place. I have heard
Minneapolis police officers from outside the City say it on many
occasions. When I have been told that statement I reply, "Why
don't you get a job somewhere else too, you clearly deserve
something different than being here".
It is that attitude that discounts the 10 rapes that occured in
Phillips last month. OK, don't get excited I was told, only two
were stranger rapes of juvenals, the rest were acquainted with the
rapist. According to some that may not be an important statistic,
but to that little girl it was a life changing event.
By the way, how many little girls got raped in your neighborhood
last month? Think about your little girl, your little sister, your
niece, or your cousin, your grand daughter, and then imagine it
was her. Now how important would that statistic be? Would a
slight raise in your taxes really be more important?
In a debate tonight I heard a Minneapolis Mayor say that public
safety was his highest priority, but balancing the budget was more
important. Think
about that when you vote this November. Exactly how much more
important is an extra $10.00 or $20.00 on your property taxes
compared to YOUR little girl being that little girl whose life has
been so changed?
Jim Graham,
Ventura Village
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