The takeaway seemed to be: If we solve crime, we solve Minneapolis’ (and the state’s) growth woes.
“It’s been a critical point all along for me,” Kupchella told me. “We talked about education, we talked crime, we talked about economic pain and demographic realities. ... You stop and say, if the orientation is ‘how do we right the ship,’ then whatever else is true, the first thing you must stabilize is the sense of safety and security.”
I agree that personal safety and low crime are baseline conditions for any community to attract people and to prosper. MPD is understaffed. It has made important changes, but the department has a long road to get back to the number of officers its leaders say it needs.
Kupchella’s documentary doesn’t go into the department’s own role in harming its reputation and relations with the public. Even if it had, the point remains that the city endured a rise in crime in 2020 and 2021. That wave has ebbed, data shows, but it will take time to change impressions about the city’s safety.
That’s more than I’ve ever written about crime in this column. Here’s why:
Crime is not the root of Minneapolis’ growth problem. Nor Minnesota’s.