Neighbor,
This week, House Republicans rolled out a package of bills to combat a rise in violent crime in parts of the Twin Cities, including on light rail lines and around entertainment venues.
The bills target many of the issues driving that spike in violent crime – including gang and drug trafficking activity – as well as the need for additional officers and tools for law enforcement to combat crime on the light rail lines and in communities.
Here are some examples of what we’re working to clean up:
Here is a quick overview of proposals announced Monday in a “Safety in our Cities” package:
We are committed to combating violent crime and improving public safety. Taxpaying citizens who paid the freight to build these facilities for games, concerts and other events should be able to enjoy themselves without having to worry about being subject to criminal acts. Minnesotans from all around the state have been asking for something to be done and these bills would be a good start.
On a separate but similar note, I have authored a bill to fund our Minnesota State Patrol training program for new recruits. Many of our current State Patrol officers are reaching retirement age and we’ll need replacements ready to roll. This is an issue we pick up from time to time and this is a year we need to address it again.
Meanwhile, at the exact same time House Republicans were conducting a press conference to unveil this package of “Safety in our Cities” bills, Democrats were hosting a press conference of their own to talk about raising your taxes and/or using the state’s over-collection of tax dollars to solve climate change. I’ll leave it at that.
-Steve