The ill-conceived proposal to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety has been soundly defeated.
In the face of rising crime, including a 40% increase in carjackings, Minneapolis voters on Tuesday rejected an empty plan that featured promises and interpretations of what might happen, but few actual details.
That was always the proposal’s major failing. It would have rolled back minimum law enforcement staffing and funding requirements in a city that already has far too little of both. It also would have extended the City Council’s power over policing and put another layer of bureaucracy above the police chief — if one remained in the new structure — in the form of a commissioner.
