Public Safety
Public Safety
Parent boot camp marches on, but history casts doubt on Minneapolis efforts to sustain youth anti-violence efforts
The high-energy call and response summed up the evening’s lesson for about 15 black parents with teenage children.
“What do we do?”
“Model and Teach!”
Dr. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya, a psychologist, started what she calls a parent boot camp after working with a number of black families whose children were traumatized by seeing violence in school and the community. It’s called Project Murua, which is Swahili for respect. MORE »
Minneapolis juvenile crime trends look good, but don’t credit prevention work—yet
Last January, Minneapolis city government and community leaders launched the Blueprint for Action: Preventing Youth Violence. This October, advocates, led by Mayor R.T. Rybak, touted a 46 percent drop in juvenile crime.
The plan is a good one and all agree that the crime trends are positive, but it appears that the city has oversold the immediate benefits of the Blueprint’s prevention initiative. MORE »
Cedar-Riverside stakeholders commit action—and funding—to quell violence
In the weeks since Augsburg student Ahmednur Ali was shot and killed just feet from Currie Park and the Brian Coyle Community Center, area residents, community organizations and institutions, and police have stepped up efforts on a number of fronts to improve public safety and community relations in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. MORE »
ACORN organizes new chapter in Saint Paul’s North End
Fed up with theft and vandalism, gangs and graffiti, and foreclosed homes in their neighborhood, a group of North End residents came together on Tuesday, November 11, to organize North End Neighbors United as a chapter of Minnesota ACORN (www.acorn.org http://www.acorn.org">Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). MORE »
Desperate measures for public defenders in Minnesota and beyond
Public defenders are overworked–it will probably always be that way. But water up to your chin is different from water up to your eyeballs. And eyeball-deep public defenders are drawing a line according to a story in the New York Times. MORE »
Scratch Games: Understanding graffiti
Power, self-expression and rebellion are the key words to understanding any discussion about graffiti. Recent angst about a growing problem in Minneapolis prompted the Uptown Association to present a Graffiti Education Meeting at Bryant Square Park. Sergeant Giovanni Veliz, a Minneapolis Police Department graffiti investigator, gave an experienced report of graffiti in Uptown with 5th Precinct Crime Prevention Specialist Tom Thompson and Angela Brenny of Minneapolis Solid Waste and Recycling (MSWR). MORE »
Cutting down the crime: offenders & victims shake hands
North Minneapolis has a reputation of heinous crimes, some committed by teenagers. Mary Johnson, a resident of this location had her 20 year-old son gunned down by a 16 year-old boy over a trivial misunderstanding in a dance hall! MORE »
Lights, cameras -- but no action for St. Paul police
The official story is that anyone can walk into St. Paul police headquarters and view the footage from the 100-plus cameras monitoring downtown and the Central Corridor for crime. The official story also says that the cameras are monitored by police in the Western District station (on Hamline Avenue) and in the central St. Paul police headquarters. Actually, on a recent day, no one seemed to be watching and the public monitor did not work at all. MORE »
