News and Commentary

Minneapolis Carjackings Skyrocket While City Council Still Considers Defunding Police

"In November, the toll of people shot this year surpassed 500 in Minneapolis, the most in 15 years."

   DailyWire.com
A police car makes its way to the scene after a shooting was reported outside Circus Circus hotel and casino, on June 1, 2020,
Bridget Bennett/AFP via Getty Images

While the Minneapolis City Council is making another effort to defund the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), carjackings have skyrocketed in the city, with some of them involving drivers accosted at gunpoint.

According to the Star-Tribune, in the last two months, Minneapolis police have recorded over 125 carjackings. The Star-Tribune reported that there have been a “series of brazen attempted armed robberies and carjackings in a wave that is stretching across the city. Minneapolis residents are grappling with a triple-digit percentage increase in these crimes, and incidents occurring at all hours, including broad daylight.”

Carjackings were so rare that they weren’t even tracked as a separate issue by the MPD until September 22; prior to that they were lumped together with robberies and auto theft. But after the carjackings grew in number over the summer the MPD implemented a new coding system.

“A retroactive count by analysts determined that Minneapolis has seen at least 375 carjackings this year — including 17 last week. That overall tally is more than three times higher than 2019,” the Star-Tribune noted, adding, “Within a one-hour period Saturday morning, police reported three separate carjackings in southeast Minneapolis, including one where an elderly woman was struck on the head. Such attacks are up 537% this month when compared with last November.”

Police spokesman John Elder stated, “The numbers are staggering. It defies all civility and any shred of common human decency.” He cautioned victims to hand over their belongings, saying, “People need to know what their abilities are. A 74-year-old woman trying to duke it out with two 18-year-olds is not a great idea.”

“The spree comes amid a nearly unprecedented spike in violent crime, particularly shootings, since the May 25 killing of George Floyd in police custody and the civil unrest that followed. … In November, the toll of people shot this year surpassed 500 in Minneapolis, the most in 15 years,” the Star-Tribune pointed out.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo acknowledged, “Crime is occurring, the shootings, the carjackings, the robberies. They are citywide, they are impacting everyone, and not just one constituency base and not just one neighborhood.”

The Daily Wire reported on Tuesday about the current efforts of some members of the city council:

Minneapolis’ CBS affiliate reports that three members of the Minneapolis City Council, all of whom supported a drastic plan to defund and disband the city’s police department following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, are offering a “follow-up” solution that involves slashing the police budget and drastically cutting the number of MPD officers.

“Minneapolis City Council Member Phillipe Cunningham saw the mass protests following George Floyd’s death in late May as an imperative for something new,” the outlet reported Tuesday. “He and council colleagues Lisa Bender and Steve Fletcher have co-written a budget plan that proposes moving about $8 million out of the police department. For context, the current budget allocated nearly $200 million to MPD.”

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