Minneapolis — Violent crime has skyrocketed in Minneapolis in the year following the death of George Floyd—and the “de-fund the police” efforts by Minneapolis politicians. Even worse, homicides have reached the second-highest level in the city’s history: 83 homicides occurred along with 5,426 violent crime the Daily Mail reported.
The last time homicides reached this alarming rate happened in 1995, when Minneapolis became known as “Murderapolis.” Crime statistics for the current year indicate that violence is increasing: roughly 1,400 violent crimes have already been reported, and indicators suggest Minneapolis may suffer more than 100 homicides.
In referring to the worst historical crime in the city, a Minneapolis police officer told journalist Michael Tracey in a report published on Substack sounded the alarm: “We’re gonna blow Murderapolis off the charts this year.”
The officer’s remarks are not hyperbole, especially considering that the city’s gunshot detection data shows more than 24,000 bullets were fired across Minneapolis last year.
Even more alarming, amid the demands for “justice” and chants of “black lives matter,” the violence in Minneapolis has ironically led to a hyper-victimization of blacks. Roughly 80 percent of the shooting victims in Minneapolis are “Black” as the Daily Mail noted.
Clearly, the fact that 80 percent of shooting victims are “black” indicates a significant disparity—and one that is strangely being discussed by a British newspaper—and practically ignored by the media in Minneapolis and American overall. And it seems politicians at the local, state, and national level are ignoring the facts of this disparity as well.
In echoing the remarks made by the Minneapolis police officer, nationally recognized law enforcement trainer Travis Yates told Law Officer that, “with violent crime at historical levels, and all the talk of disparity and law enforcement, it seems odd that nobody is talking about the unfortunate disparity regarding the victims of violence.”
Yates says that the media and politicians are causing public harm by ignoring victims: “While America should be coming together and work toward stopping the incredible disparity of violent crime victimization that exists in African American communities, as in Minneapolis, it’s hardly talked about and the real scandal is that no one seems to care.”
Yates, who is also an expert on police leadership and author of “The Courageous Police Leader,” explained that, “of course, cops care about victims whose lives impact the lives of police officers in so many profound ways. And I can tell you without a doubt that law enforcement officers in Minneapolis care deeply about their city. But when any particular community or demographic group suffers violence more than others—and so-called leaders remain silent about it—silence and lack of leadership are not going to make the problem go away.”
Likewise, Minneapolis officers who spoke to journalist Michael Tracey said the negative attitudes toward police, along with the push to defund Minneapolis PD, has made Minneapolis seem more like the ‘Wild Wild West’ than the progressive city it claims to be.
Unfortunately, the Wild Wild West landscape—and the rise of violent crime and alarming disparity of “black” victimization—does not seem to be limited to Minneapolis. For example, similar disparities in victimization exist in New York City, where 71 percent of the homicide victims were “black,” and also Chicago, where 80 percent of the homicide victims were “black.”
