This week, Senate and House Republicans presented their Safe & Sound Minnesota public safety plan to confront the threat of violent and repeat criminals, strengthen police and improve training for law enforcement, and hold judges and prosecutors accountable with public data and information.  

“Minnesotans should feel safe in their homes and communities, and the Safe & Sound package prioritizes those needs,” said Senator Karin Housley (R-Stillwater). “This set of bills supports our law enforcement officers that have given so much to keep our families and communities safe, and it also holds judges, prosecutors, and criminals accountable. The Safe & Sound package demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the safety and security of families across the state.”

The first part of the plan provides needed support to our state’s law enforcement officers with robust recruitment, training, and retention plans. The Safe & Sound Minnesota plan provides $1 million for Pathway to Policing, $5 million for college scholarships and technology to help law enforcement students prepare for their role, and $15 million for bodycams for law enforcement departments. The plan also fulfills a request of $168 million for police and first responder pension funds.  

Tough laws and great cops can only do so much, which is why the second tenet of the plan puts in place transparency and accountability measures for the state’s courts. New data reporting would help legislators and the public understand how many felony-level offenses go uncharged, as well as a database by the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission for the public to conduct research about judges and their decisions to follow criminal sentences created by the legislature.

To addresses concerns that violent, repeat offenders are too often released, the final portion of the package creates a new mandatory minimum sentence for dangerous criminals who commit crimes with a firearm. This plan would also make who posts bail payments public data. Recent scrutiny on non-profits bailing out violent criminals shows Minnesotans are at risk when these non-profits aren’t held accountable for their decisions.  

The package includes 17 different bills from 15 different Republican authors across the state. A full list of bills included in the package can be found HERE.