In response to today’s Senate Judiciary and Public Safety and Transportation Committee Hearing, the lead DFL members on the respective committees, Senator Ron Latz (DFL – St. Louis Park) and Senator Scott Dibble (DFL – Minneapolis) issued the following statement:
“We appreciated hearing from members of law enforcement today on the difficult challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. It was revealing that a common thread was the need for additional resources to address mental health crisis calls, which police are not equipped to respond to. We must give our members of law enforcement the resources they need to best do their jobs.
“To reduce and prevent crime, we must engage everyone – including criminologists, mental health professionals, public safety advocates, members of law enforcement, and members of the community to create the public safety every Minnesotan deserves. We must also acknowledge the importance and need of economic revitalization, creating healthy childhoods, enacting criminal justice reform, and building community trust. This work requires all of us to be given a seat at the table, which is not what occurred in the Minnesota Senate today.”