Mpls. Police Union Head: Proactive Policing Down Due To Scrutiny
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Violent crime has increased in the city of Minneapolis.
Homicide and aggravated assault all saw double-digit increases in 2015. But the number of people arrested for those crimes has recently decreased.
Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, says officers are not doing the little extra things to keep the number of arrests on pace with crime.
"Proactive policing is what takes the guns off the street; it's what takes the drug dealers off the street; it's what takes the thieves off the street," Kroll said. "Self-initiated activity like that is what's good for the community. And if they're not getting the support -- in particular from the politicians and the administration -- they're going to curb that back."
Kroll says officers in the 4th Precinct are especially on guard because of the officer-involved shooting of Jamar Clark.
"They don't want to be subjected to the current scrutiny. Right now, you know, you got three city council members that have attached themselves to Black Lives Matter that want to persecute police," Kroll said.
Numbers pulled from MPD's website show the week after Clark was killed, the number of arrest for traffic stops was down more than 56 percent (56.97). Suspicious vehicle arrests were down more than 36 percent (36.88), and the arrest of suspicious people down 21 percent.
"To keep the numbers down you got to keep proactive enforcement up. And we encourage our officers to work hard, but at some point it becomes self-preservation for them," he said.
Kroll says the federation encourages the use of body cameras by officers. He says they will not only protect officers from false accusations, but they will also protect citizens who are wronged by officers.
Minneapolis police say their crime stats for the year are not complete. Officials will wait until midnight to compile the numbers, which will be released at a later date.
