“When I started, Black folks I’d speak to in Minneapolis seemed surprised that I’d been hired,” Chief Green said when I spoke with him recently. “They told me they and most people they knew avoided driving through Golden Valley.”

Members of the overwhelmingly white police force responded to both hires by quitting — in droves.

  • oblast@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Mr. Harris is quick to point out that Golden Valley may not be the perfect model for the rest of the country. “This is a wealthy community with very little crime,” he said. “We can afford to go through this change. I realize that may not be the case in other places.”

    tl;dr: Rich town with low crime rate does wacky changes, doesn’t really mean much, but still interesting

  • Jordan Lund@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    I wish that were true in Portland. Cops quit, the city stopped doing enforcement of most crimes, car/retail theft exploded.

    • silence7@slrpnk.netOP
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      1 year ago

      Car theft (and catalytic converter theft) exploded during the pandemic irrespective of local police staffing. Only thing which helped there was going after the fences, but the cops mostly don’t care about that

      • crank@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        lol to the comment above you. “cops quit, but deaths from respiratory disease just went way up!” hmmmm maybe the causality is not quite as stated.

        Quick research to support your point Here’s Where Car Thefts Are Spiking Because Of The Pandemic:

        there were 108 catalytic reported converter thefts per month on average in 2018, 282 average monthly thefts reported in 2019, and 1,203 average thefts reported per month in 2020.

        going after the fences

        typo? what was the intended text?

        • GraceGH@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          A fence is someone who knowingly purchases stolen goods, typically for less than retail price.

        • Umbrias@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          Fence is a term for buyer of stolen goods, acting as a middle man of sorts to recirculatethem goods.