Portable Camera and Lighting Expansion

Department

Police

Amount

$1,000,000

Staffing Needs

None

Previous ARPA Funding

Yes. Phase 1

Problem Statement

There are consistent signs across the country that certain crimes have seen jumps during the pandemic with the largest increases in violent crimes, particularly murder, aggravated assault, and shooting incidents. Violent crime in Minneapolis, specifically homicide and felony level assaults continue to be elevated exceeding the previous three-year average. Felony level assaults are up 21% over last year, and 7% over the previous year average.

In Minneapolis, gunshot wound victims have increased by over 19% year over year for the first 12 weeks in 2022 and 81% over the 3-year average, while 911 response staffing (Patrol: Lieutenant, Sergeant, Officer) has decreased from 478 in April 2020 to 349 currently.

Proposed Action Summary

With the significant reduction in sworn FTEs combined with high recent crime trends, the MPD is seeking alternative preventative policing measures or measures that could assist in investigations of crime. One alternative is the use of portable cameras and lighting, which are widely requested by communities and neighborhood organizations, to both deter crime and help solve crime. MPD proposes expanding the fleet of mobile cameras and portable lighting for use in areas of high crime or hotspots to both deter crime and to aid in investigations. Cameras would be viewed in real time during periods of high crime or assist with 911 calls, or recorded footage utilized by investigations to help develop leads and information.

Proposed Action Detail

There is a need for additional cameras as well as portable lighting. Many studies conclude that increased levels of lighting can lead to reductions in crime. Portable LED Lighting has been effectively used by the MPD in taking away the cover of darkness for the criminal element. In addition to portable lighting’s ability to deter crime, it is used to light unlit areas in the city at night which greatly enhances milestone video footage. Enhanced milestone video, as a direct result of the use of portable lighting, has aided in the identification of violent crime suspects on numerous occasions in the city. Portable light trailers can also be utilized with rapidly unfolding incidents of violence or natural disasters. Light trailers normally include:

• LED lighting and shades that limit light pollution
• Generator
• Are robust and durable
• Tower lighting
• Commercial/Industrial grade

The Special Operations Center maintains and deploys 17 mobile camera trailers. The Strategic Operations Center also monitors 260 fixed cameras. The cameras themselves have been critical to addressing emerging crime issues in all police precincts and to provide on scene situational awareness for major events and emergencies. The newer deployable mobile cameras include both the cameras themselves along with the trailer and a hybrid power system of battery backed up by diesel which automatically is activated when the battery runs low. This allows the trailers to be placed in the field for extended periods of time without having to remove them for maintenance and charging. Many neighborhood associations and organizations request these cameras to be used as a deterrent in high crime areas and to assist in investigations of crime. Additional cameras would be made available to precincts to be placed in hotspot areas to both deter crime and to help provide situational awareness due to the decrease in staffing. The recorded data can be reviewed by investigators to help develop information and leads. The requested funds would be used solely for the purchase and installation of cameras and trailers and to hire personnel to view video.

Racial Equity Impact

People of color are disproportionately more likely to be victims of violent crime and account for the highest percentage of victims of gunshot wounds citywide (82%). The highest concentration of both violent crime and shots fired occur in the two precincts with the most diverse communities in the City, Precinct 3 in South Minneapolis, and Precinct 4 in North Minneapolis. Together, these two precincts account for 57% of the City's violent crime incident totals and 76% of the City's total homicide victims in 2021. Thus, the highest concentration of violent crimes occurs in the City's most diverse areas. These are also the people most impacted by the pandemic. Use of cameras and lighting would provide more impact for determining crime with those community members most impacted by crime.

Community organizations continually ask for cameras in areas that have repeated crime problems and quite a few neighborhood organizations have purchased cameras and donated them to the city for use in their neighborhoods. This creates an inequality as not all neighborhoods can afford the large purchase price of a portable camera. Purchase of additional cameras would help provide resources in all areas throughout the City.

Results

Proactive policing would help prevent crime and result in a decrease in crime in hotspot areas and a decrease in crime for those groups most impacted by crime. For use during reported calls for service, it would enable officers to view, monitor, and assess problems more quickly freeing up staff to respond to other issues. Cameras also aid in investigations by providing visual information for follow up as well as helping to predict crime trends within areas.

MinneapolUS Strategic Outreach Initiative

Department

Health

Amount

$1,000,000

Staffing Needs

None

Previous ARPA Funding

Yes. Phase 1 and 2022 Budget.

Problem Statement

In 2020 and 2021, the City experienced an increase in certain types of serious violence. The Office of Violence Prevention employs three evidence-based strategies that have been shown to reduce violent crime nationally—hospital-based violence intervention, Group Violence Intervention, and violence interrupters. The violence interrupter strategy (MinneapolUS Strategic Outreach Initiative) was piloted in 2020 and implemented more broadly in 2021. Additional resources would support more Violence Interrupters to allow for broader coverage from the strategy.

Proposed Action Summary

Through this initiative, teams of Violence Interrupters are a regular presence in parts of the city. They do not provide law enforcement services; instead, they use informal mediation, non-physical conflict resolution, and interruption expertise to help prevent situations from turning violent. They also support behavior change for people who may be at risk for serious violence and connect people with resources to support them toward a path that does not involve violence.

Proposed Action Detail

Funds will allow for ongoing expansion of the existing initiative. Funds will be used primarily for contracts to support Violence Interrupter wages to ensure significant coverage by Violence Interrupters. Funds may also be used for outreach supplies (e.g. uniforms, safety equipment), violence prevention outreach events, and training and technical assistance. That may include increasing existing contracts with MinneapolUS Strategic Outreach Initiative contracted partners or engaging new partners.

This initiative complements the OVP’s existing continuum of community-oriented violence prevention, intervention, and response.

Violence Interrupters will use knowledge of their communities, relationships, informal mediation, and non-physical conflict resolution to help stop conflicts before they become violent. They will also work to mobilize community to reject violence through strategies like awareness building, community gatherings, peace walks, and other methods. They will work with community to address barriers and reduce risk by providing resources and referrals to services. Services will also include work to repair the harm caused by violence after it has occurred in order to break the cycle of violence.

Racial Equity Impact

While violence affects people across Minneapolis, it takes an inequitable toll. Specific neighborhoods and communities—particularly BIPOC communities—face a disproportionate burden of violence in Minneapolis. This initiative seeks to mitigate that by focusing services specifically toward those neighborhoods and communities.

OVP strategies (including this one) are designed to acknowledge and address structural barriers and the interplay between social, political, and economic factors and violence. In that way, this type of violence prevention work is inextricably tied to race equity work. Through this initiative, participants—many of whom are likely to identify as part of BIPOC communities—will have increased access to resources and services. In that way, the initiative is meant to mitigate some of the harm caused by longstanding structural violence.

Additionally, people from BIPOC communities have traditionally been overincarcerated and are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. While violence reduction is the core focus, this initiative may play a role in helping to divert people from further system involvement as well, thereby helping to interrupt the pipeline to prison and reducing potential for all of the collateral consequences associated with justice system involvement.

Results

The initiative is intended to promote safe, healthy, and thriving communities that are free from violence in ways such as:

• Reducing group/gang member involved shootings
• Promoting access to resources and services (e.g. basic needs, housing, employment skills and training, mentorship) for individuals at risk of involvement with violence
• Increasing trust between community and government

Outreach teams will be expected to document shift activities, capturing both quantitative outputs (e.g. number of individuals engaged, number mediations conducted) and qualitative reflections (e.g. highlights, challenges). Team Leads will capture and provide quantitative measures (e.g. number of shifts, number of outreach hours) and quantitative information (e.g. successes, barriers, resident/neighborhood feedback).

Next Step Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program

Department

Health

Amount

$450,000

Staffing Needs

None

Previous ARPA Funding

No

Problem Statement

The Next Step Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program serves people who have been victims of violent injury treated at HCMC, North Memorial, and Abbott Northwestern. The need for Next Step has continued to grow in recent years; in 2020, shootings in Minneapolis significantly over previous years, and in 2021 Next Step has enrolled more participants than in 2020. To meet that growing need, Next Step would benefit from additional staff capacity.

Proposed Action Summary

To accommodate increased volume of Next Step participants, ensure staff wellbeing and retention/reduce burnout, better delineate program staff duties, and incorporate a community-centered prevention focus, Next Step would add three new positions.

Proposed Action DetailThe Office of Violence Prevention is a founding partner of Next Step and has funded a significant portion of Next Step since the program’s inception. That funding is provided to Hennepin Healthcare through a contract. This funding would be added to existing contract funds to allow for expansion of staffing. Program Funds would cover staffing costs for 2022 and 2023 ($225,000 per year). Hennepin Healthcare has indicated they will fund the positions long-term beyond the initial two years.

Racial Equity Impact

The Office of Violence Prevention is a founding partner of Next Step and has funded a significant portion of Next Step since the program’s inception. That funding is provided to Hennepin Healthcare through a contract. This funding would be added to existing contract funds to allow for expansion of staffing. Program Funds would cover staffing costs for 2022 and 2023 ($225,000 per year). Hennepin Healthcare has indicated they will fund the positions long-term beyond the initial two years.

Results

Office of Violence Prevention Initiatives are intended to promote safe, healthy, and thriving communities that are free from violence. Next Step is intended to support this by:

• Reducing reinjury for those who have been impacted by violence
• Promoting access to resources and services (e.g. basic needs, housing, employment skills and training, mentorship) for those who need them

Blueprint Approved Academy

Department

Health

Amount

$250,000

Staffing Needs

None

Previous ARPA Funding

No

Problem Statement

Public health, community safety, and youth opportunities have all been significantly impacted over the last 18 months due to the myriad, layered effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office of Violence Prevention is working to mitigate those impacts. One of the primary OVP strategies is capacity building. Since 2015, the Health Department has worked with grassroots organizations doing violence prevention work in Minneapolis to help them build meaningful capacity to enhance their services and reach through our Blueprint Approved Institute (BPAI) fellowship. Owing to the positive experiences of participants and positive perception from community, demand for BPAI has continued to grow. The ability to serve has grown some—in 2015, eight agencies participated compared to eighteen in 2021. But, likely due in part to the intersecting needs related to public health, COVID, community safety, and youth opportunity, the demand now significantly exceeds capacity. During the 2021 request for applications process, the City received over 30 applications to the BPAI fellowship and had to turn away almost half of them due to insufficient funding.

Proposed Action Summary

Funding would increase opportunities for community organizations to participate in and receive funding from the BPAI fellowship capacity building initiative.

Proposed Action Detail

BPAI supports grassroots community organizations doing violence prevention work in Minneapolis. Through BPAI, OVP works with those organizations to build skills and increase their organizational capacity and provide funding for them to put their capacity building into practice through a violence prevention programming demonstration project. For that, they're supported with hands-on guidance, one-on-one coaching, and support from BPAI and their cohort of peers. This capacity building enhances agencies' services and increases their ability to secure other funding to sustainably provide violence prevention work that supports community.

ARPA funding will allow for expansion of BPAI to engage additional agencies and provide more funding per engaged agency for individual capacity building (e.g., developing or expanding curriculum, getting targeted training, building a website, designing and implementing evaluation strategies, etc.) and youth violence prevention programming demonstration projects.

Racial Equity Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has further brought social and racial inequity to light in public health. Violence is a public health issue that is inextricably linked with many of those social conditions. As such, the communities most disproportionately affected by violence in Minneapolis are often the same communities most disproportionately impacted by other negative health outcomes. Therefore, violence in Minneapolis is not only a public health issue impacting the wellbeing of communities, but also a critical health equity issue.

Since 2006, the Minneapolis Health Department has focused on youth violence prevention from a public health perspective. That work has emphasized the importance of using City resources and technical expertise to lift the wisdom and expertise already present in the community. Authentically engaging community allows the OVP to pursue a dual focus of identifying effective ways to solve the problem of violence and addressing longstanding health equity issues. BPAI is designed and implemented with that focus on equity and is one the OVP’s primary ways of doing that engagement and capacity building.

Results

Through BPAI, we hope to reduce rates of violence and decrease existing racial and economic disparities within Minneapolis. To do that, we hope to build capacity, foster leadership skills, support the presence of additional violence prevention programming, create a place where fellows can network with each other and create long-lasting collaborative relationships, and set organizations up to succeed in securing other funding and evaluating their efforts. To understand the impact of BPAI, we use different approaches such as surveys, one-on-one interviews, and small focus groups.

OVP Programs Information System

Department

Health

Amount

$125,000

Staffing Needs

None

Previous ARPA Funding

Yes. 2022 Budget

Problem Statement

In recent years, the size and scope of Office of Violence Prevention initiatives has expanded. Investment in capacity and the critical infrastructure needed to adequately accomplish information collection, monitoring, and evaluation is needed to keep pace with that expansion. Historically, many OVP initiatives had relied on a single community contracted partner, making information collection and monitoring manageable on the provider end. As services have expanded, some OVP initiatives (e.g., GVI, the MinneapolUS Strategic Outreach Initiative, trauma response) have begun using multiple contracted organizations. This has created a need for a city-managed information system for data collection and tracking that will allow for better capacity for program information transparency and better understanding of program outputs, outcomes, and impact.

Proposed Action Summary

With this funding, OVP staff and Health Department Research and Evaluation staff assigned to Office of Violence Prevention will work with necessary partners to identify information system options, evaluate those options, engage in the process of building out a system, train system users, and implement a system.

Proposed Action Detail

Funds will cover costs of initial database set up, training, and implementation costs and ongoing database license costs.

Racial Equity Impact

While violence affects people across Minneapolis, it takes an inequitable toll. Specific neighborhoods and communities—particularly BIPOC communities—face a disproportionate burden of violence in Minneapolis. This initiative seeks to mitigate that by focusing services specifically toward those neighborhoods and communities.

OVP strategies are designed to acknowledge and address structural barriers and the interplay between social, political, and economic factors and violence. In that way, this type of violence prevention work is inextricably tied to race equity work. Through this initiative, participants—many of whom are likely to identify as part of BIPOC communities—will have increased access to resources and services. In that way, the initiative is meant to mitigate some of the harm caused by longstanding structural violence.

Additionally, people from BIPOC communities have traditionally been overincarcerated and are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. While violence is the core focus, OVP initiatives may also play a role in helping to divert people from further system involvement as well, thereby helping to interrupt the pipeline to prison and reducing potential for all of the collateral consequences associated with justice system involvement.

In order to achieve those results, we must have the information needed to understand program impact and to engage in continuous program quality improvement.

Results

The OVP works to promote safe, healthy, and thriving communities that are free from violence. A program information is a critical infrastructural tool for accomplishing that goal.