JOHNSON PRAISES NEW PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERSHIP
ST. PAUL, MN – On Wednesday, a new partnership was announced that will utilize resources from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Minnesota State Patrol in high-risk areas of Minneapolis. Rep. Brian Johnson, R-Cambridge, Republican Lead of the House Public Safety Committee, issued the following statement on the new partnership:
“This is a long overdue but necessary step to combat the continued dramatic rise in crime we are seeing in our cities,” Rep. Johnson said. “I'm grateful to the men and women at the BCA and State Patrol who are answering the call to protect the safety of Minnesotans. House Republicans were calling for this exact approach a year ago — unfortunately only now, when we are on pace for another year of record numbers of murders in our largest cities, are we finally seeing action.”
This partnership comes almost a year after the Republicans held a news conference to unveil solutions to address rising crime calling for more law enforcement — including specific calls for Gov. Walz to deploy the State Patrol to assist with law enforcement efforts. Over the past two sessions, House Democrats have repeatedly rejected amendments that would increase policing and help put a stop to the murders, carjackings, aggravated assaults and more.
The agreement between the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota State Patrol and the BCA began April 15 and will expire Dec. 31, 2023.
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