We are approaching a breaking point in our communities. In every city neighborhood and in many of our suburbs, carjackings, armed assaults and shootings are daily occurrences.
Teenagers should not be losing their lives at the hands of other teenagers with guns. Nobody should be afraid to go to the grocery store or drop their kids off at school. Parents should not be losing their children or loved ones because of police misconduct.
We’re facing violence in all directions and we need leadership to respond with real, meaningful solutions. We need to pull together the people and the organizations in our communities who can help stop the violence – and we need to do it now.
The issue with leadership is clear: We’re experiencing a failure of governance over the police department in our largest city. There are many ideas being thrown on the table, but we haven’t seen tangible action to address the shortcomings of the Minneapolis Police Department. The policies of city leaders are not being carried through in daily practice and that is one of the reasons we’re seeing so much distrust in the community.
That distrust creates cracks in our foundation of justice and public safety – further-undermining confidence in our institutions and allowing violence to fester and grow. And too often, young people and families of color are paying the price for that ineptitude.
In February, we had two 15-year-olds killed by other community members – and near school buildings, which should be the safest places for our youth. A 22-year-old was killed by the Minneapolis police, and a 17-year-old was arrested for the murder that led to the 22-year-old’s death. Tragedies like these only compound each other.
To break this cycle of senseless violence, improve the safety of our communities, restore trust in our institutions of public safety, and break down the bias that has warped our justice system for far too long, we must work together.
First, we need to empower the work and voices of community leaders who are deeply engaged in finding real solutions. We’ve seen incredible leadership from community groups who have taken the initiative to provide community-based prevention methods and solutions for rising crime. While community member engagement makes a difference, these groups can only do so much without city, county and state leaders providing additional resources.
Our elected leaders must build better partnerships with the organizations that are intervening to stop violence daily, and who provide a pathway out for troubled young people. These partnerships should provide avenues for civic leaders to listen to community members and then provide with what’s needed for success and for communities to thrive.
In concert, the Department of Public Safety should convene a metro-wide gun violence and armed-assault task force to address the rise in violence and save lives. That task force must include community leaders – nobody knows our communities better than the people who live in them.
Working hand-in-hand with community organizations, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, and others should sit at the same table, identify problems, find the resources for prevention and solutions, and act together.
As we do the urgently-needed work of changing our public safety systems, it is still the responsibility of law enforcement to protect and serve residents. We need to enforce the law and make individuals accountable when they hurt others. But we can’t try to recycle a repressive system and hope for better results.
That’s why the state needs to support efforts to recruit a new generation of police officers with a proven commitment to community service. Communities are looking for more diverse officers. We need a joint effort by public safety leaders and community members to recruit, train, and support those diverse candidates.
We can also look to successful, community-oriented police departments – like in Newark, N.J., or New Haven, Conn. – who have regained the respect and trust of their communities as models. All of this reinforces the need for stronger leadership that delivers results, not just prepared remarks.
Most importantly, prosperous communities are safe communities. We need to break down barriers for the small businesses, homeowners, civic and cultural organizations, and religious and community leaders who are the foundations of community prosperity. The parts of our community which have received the least investment should be our priority for support and growth.
We cannot continue as we have been going. There are so many people doing amazing work right now and we need leaders who can find the money to support their work for our whole community. None of us can do this work alone.
Ryan Winkler is the Minnesota House Majority Leader, an attorney, and a candidate for Hennepin County Attorney.
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