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50morecops.org |
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Let’s put safety and security first for all residents! |
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A joint effort between your local Independence and Republican Parties |
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50 More Cops Now: We support the police federation in its campaign to bring more cops to Minneapolis. We believe that the mayor’s first priority should be to keep the promise he made one year ago. The city’s police department should be restored to 893 sworn officers, the number of officers that existed just four years ago, before the city’s drastic cuts to police department staffing. Mayor Rybak's Promise: In July 2006, Mayor R.T. Rybak made a commitment to increase the number of sworn officers in the Minneapolis Police Department to 893. “The most powerful tool in any crime fighting strategy is to put more police officers on the street. We did that in last year’s budget and this year we are adding an additional 43 more officers. By adding these officers, we will return to a police force of 893 sworn officers . . . .” Mayor’s 2007 Budget Address, August 15, 2006 Money Was Budgeted for 893 Police: The money was budgeted to get to the goal of 893 officers. There were 786 sworn officers in July 2005. The 2006 budget added $5.3 million to the Police Department, specifically to fund 71 additional officers. The 2007 budget added another $3.4 million to the Police Department, specifically to fund 43 additional officers. The total appropriations in the 2007 budget should have funded 893 sworn officer positions. The Result: Unfortunately, the Police Department now consists of 852 sworn officers. Ten of these sworn officers are on leaves of absence. The number of sworn officers is now 50 fewer than the number promised by the Mayor. Because there are no plans to hire any additional officers in 2007, by year end attrition will likely reduce the number of active, sworn officers to below 830. |
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Get Your Lawn Sign! |
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click here for press release in response to the Mayor’s budget address |
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1. The Mayor and City Council should ensure that the police department is staffed as soon as possible with 893 sworn officers, as promised by the Mayor in July, 2006 and later communications. The funds to achieve this level of staffing were provided in the 2007 budget adopted by the City Council. 2. The City Council should establish a timeline for achieving proper staffing levels 3. The City’s website should provide frequent updates on the progress of achieving staffing of 893 sworn officers. |
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3 Things Minneapolis Needs! |