Minneapolis Gang Violence Intensifies After Police Defunding

In North Minneapolis, at the intersection of North Lyndale and West Broadway, a crowd gathers every night. They loiter, they smoke, they drink, they deal drugs and do drugs. The open-air drug market takes on the form of a street party, until the gunfire rings out – and that happens almost every night.

Two nights we were in Minneapolis and both nights there was gunfire at the intersection. The first night, two people were shot.  It is so severe, the gas station on the corner has been nicknamed by the locals: murder station.  People who live close say the violence, drug use and gang activity in North Minneapolis has become intolerable.

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The spike in violent crime times out with the defund/disband police movement. Year to date violent crime currently shows a 29% increase over 2019, the year before George Floyd was murdered. The year of the riots, violent crime jumped 20% in Minneapolis. {snip} After budget cuts and a public campaign by the Minneapolis city council to do away with the Minneapolis Police, the MPD is down 300 officers. As a result, people in the trouble spots complain it can take as long as an hour to get a response to a 911 call. {snip}

Mike Martin, Vice President of the Midwest Gang Investigators Association, says the boldness we see from young gangsters is a result of undermining support for police. “There’s definitely a belief among the youth and young adults that there are no consequences for their behavior because they see a reduced number of police officers,” {snip}

Rev. Darryl Spence, is a liaison between police and gang members in the twin cities. He says young gangsters are aware that police are understaffed, slow to respond and reluctant to respond aggressively. “If you’re a criminal you know the police aren’t coming. You have more time to do what you do and get away,” says Spence.

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