Minnesota Police Chief Brian O’Hara credits “hard work of officers” for promising crime stats
By Esme Murphy
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Minneapolis police have agreed to a major overhaul of the department after reaching an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
The agreement follows an investigation of MPD by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR).
During the pandemic, violent crime in the Twin Cities and across the country soared. At the same time, 200 Minneapolis police officers resigned or took early retirement in that year following George Floyd’s murder.
In November of last year, a new police chief was sworn in in Minneapolis. Chief Brian O’Hara was the former public safety director in Newark, New Jersey. Since being sworn in, the chief has made it a point to be at many of the shooting scenes in the city.
A look at crime statistics for the first quarter of this year are promising. Violent crime in many categories is down over this time last year. Assaults are down 25%, homicides are down 25% and shots fired are down 31%. While carjackings are down 44%, car thefts are up 99%. The difference is this: carjackings occur when somebody is in the car, car thefts are when a car is stolen when nobody is in it. MPD says 70% of those stolen cars are Hyundais and Kias.
O’Hara was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m. and talked about those improving crime stats.
“It is clearly the hard work of the Minneapolis police officers who remain in this city,” O’Hara said. “Hundreds have left, and the few that are here are incredibly resilient. And the proof of how hard they are working is right there in those numbers.”
O’Hara is welcoming the historic agreement made last week between MPD and MDHR. He says the vast majority of officers know there needs to be changes. He says what officers also want is support and clear direction. The city is also waiting on the results of a federal Department of Justice investigation into the Minneapolis police.
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