Well, we talk a lot about crime when
the statistics and crime go one way up.
Well, we need to talk about it when they
go down because crime perceptions matter.
So here's the reality in Minneapolis.
According to the city tonight,
violent crime numbers are down.
The number of 911 calls related to
gun incidents in the last 28 days
is down 44% compared to last year.
And carjackings,
they're at 1/3 at this point of
the year compared to last year.
So let's talk about policing the state.
Board that licenses police in the
state of Minnesota is making some big
updates to the minimum standards for
being officer officer in this state.
One change they approved today
would bar people who belong to
or support extremist groups from
becoming police officers.
John Croman was at the post board
session today and he joins us now
with more about what this all means.
Hey, John.
Well, Jenna, law enforcement has
changed a lot since the 1970s,
but the standards for becoming an officer
here haven't quite kept up for folks.
At the peace officers
training and Standards Board,
trying to set rules reflect what's
happened in that profession and in
our society in the last 45 years.
There's a lot in there that we read,
and that gives us the ohh yeah,
this person's gonna work
out. The Post board is 17 people,
some officers, some citizens,
some here in person and some online.
They've spent the better part of two
years hammering out new rules for
getting a peace officer license in
this state and responding to public
comments on their earlier drafts.
This is just the first section of the
rules we're tackling everything we do.
This is really just the first part
of a very, very large undertaking.
We're going to draw a very bright line
Mendota Heights. Police Chief Kelly
McCarthy chairs the Post Board,
which is trying to acknowledge that
things have changed since 1977 when
the current rules went into place.
We're just trying to bring ourselves
in line with other licensing boards
and what the Community expects that a
police licensing board can and should do.
The change that's garnered a lot
of attention barring people who
belong to or have openly supported
extremist or white supremacist
groups from serving as officers.
What we are trying to do at the
post board is we're trying to bring
our practice in line with public.
Expectations and the public
expects that the people who
enforce the law also follow it.
So all of the changes that we are making,
when you go to a member of
the public and you say, hey,
what do you think a police licensing
board should concern itself with?
That's what we're focusing on.
They're also changing the list of
information that can be collected in
a background check for an officer.
It will now encompass whether the
officers testimony as a witness
has ever been subject to a
so-called Brady Giglio disclosure.
In simple terms,
if I was the President of
the Randy Moss Fan Club,
I'm not, but I should be.
And if I arrested somebody
for assaulting him,
we should tell the defense that I
love Randy Moss because their client
might not get a fair trial and so
they might not use my testimony.
A Brady Giglio doesn't necessarily mean
the officers done something wrong.
It just means the courtroom testimony
could be called into doubt by the defense.
So those are the things
that in a background check,
you want to know if that applicant has
ever had their testimony impeached.
It could be for a completely innocent reason,
or it could be because they're
dishonest either way.
Trust agencies and communities
to make those decisions
for the post board, the hard slog
through the rule changes will
continue section by section, line
by line. OK, let's go to
4.297 right? I just get seriously,
this is my life. When I was
five and I wanted to be a cop.
It wasn't to do this.
I'll just tell you that right now.
Now, they've taken public
comments along the way,
and several statewide law enforcement
groups have raised objections,
for instance, calling the term
extremist too vague and subjective.
Some also worried that belonging
to a religious group might
be construed as extremists.
So the board added language
that clarifies for the record
that religion can't disqualify
someone from having a badge. Jana.
But they did vote to say you can't be
in these extremist groups, right, John?
Right. Yes, they that was the vote today.
And then, of course. That triggers
another public comment period.
So they'll be back next Friday to
respond to those public comments.
OK. Thanks so much, John.