A year and a half after the death of George Floyd, Minneapolis votes against the relaxation of its policy

Residents of Minneapolis have dismissed the idea of ​​an overhaul of its police force, amid turmoil more than a year after the murder of George Floyd by officer Derek Chauvin, which resulted in mass protests around the world . After the tragedy in May 2020, many calls for “Dismantle the police” were launched in Minneapolis, criticizing an organization “Structurally racist”.

A year and a half later, voters in this metropolis were to vote on the “Replacement of police services by public security services”, placing more emphasis on crime prevention. If the measure had passed, the functions of the police department would have been determined by the mayor in conjunction with elected officials of the city council, and more resources would have been allocated to the recruitment of psychosocial workers. The current Minneapolis Police Department would have been “Replaced” through “A public security department” responsible for adopting “A comprehensive public health approach”.

In the end, 56% of the residents of this large city of Minnesota voted against. The Democratic mayor of this city of 420,000 inhabitants located in the north of the United States, Jacob Frey, candidate for his own succession, was opposed to this reform proposal, and welcomed the result of the vote.

“We need a deep and structural change in policing in America”, Frey told his supporters, according to the Washington Post. “At the same time, we have to make sure that the police officers work directly with the community, to ensure our safety”, he clarified.

In April, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department to determine whether they consistently used excessive force and whether they used excessive force. “Engaged in an unconstitutional or illegal policing model or practice.”

The city saw a notable increase in crime last year, with a record number of murders and a 17% increase in violent crime.

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