School of Law Professor Mark Osler weighed in on an in-depth story from CNN about the “Defund the Police” movement and increases in violent crime in Minneapolis.
From the story:
Another factor was the pandemic, which some observers see as the biggest impetus for the crime surge.
“It unsettled settled trajectories,” said Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor who is now a professor at St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. “Kids who were going to school, who would have graduated but drifted off because there is no school – we’re seeing a lot of the violent crime is by juveniles.”
Citing sinking morale in the wake of the unrest after Floyd’s killing, leaders at the Minneapolis Police Department say the officer head count has shrunk from 900 in early 2020 to about 560 in August – a loss of more than a third of the force.
