POLL: More MPLS Residents Will Vote 'Yes' On Police Amendment

MINNEAPOLIS — A new poll finds that 49 percent of respondents in Minneapolis support replacing the city's police department with a new "Department of Public Safety."

A total of 41 percent are against doing so, and 10 percent are undecided, the poll finds. The poll was conducted by a partnership between the Star Tribune, MPR News, KARE 11, and FRONTLINE.

All Minneapolis voters will be faced with that question this fall when they get their ballots this fall:

Shall the Minneapolis City Charter be amended to remove the Police Department and replace it with a Department of Public Safety that employs a comprehensive public health approach to the delivery of functions by the Department of Public Safety, with those specific functions to be determined by the Mayor and City Council by ordinance; which will not be subject to exclusive mayoral power over its establishment, maintenance, and command; and which could include licensed peace officers (police officers), if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities for public safety, with the general nature of the amendments being briefly indicated in the explanatory note below, which is made a part of this ballot?

Yes

No

Explanatory Note: This amendment would create a Department of Public Safety combining public safety functions through a comprehensive public health approach to be determined by the Mayor and Council. The department would be led by a Commissioner nominated by the Mayor and appointed by the Council. The Police Department, and its chief, would be removed from the City Charter. The Public Safety Department could include police officers, but the minimum funding requirement would be eliminated."

The measure will pass with a simple majority.

The poll also found that a vast majority of Minneapolis residents agree that crime has increased in the city "in the last few years."

Only 33 percent of respondents have a "favorable" view of the Minneapolis Police Department. However, 55 percent of respondents say Minneapolis "should not reduce the size of its police force."

Read the full poll results at the Star Tribune.

Early voting in Minneapolis began Friday. Here are all of the offices that are up for reelection in Minneapolis in 2021:

• Mayor
• City Council
• Board of Estimate and Taxation (two at-large seats)
• Minneapolis Park Board
  • District seats (six seats)
  • At-Large (three seats)

Read more: Early Voting In Minneapolis: What To Know For Election Day 2021