Yesterday Senate Democrats forced through a Public Safety budget bill that makes thousands of criminals eligible for early release, reduces sentences for violent offenders, and funnels millions of dollars to untested and unproven non-profits while ignoring the needs of law enforcement officers across the state.  

Notable portions of the bill include:

• Allows 92% of the prison population eligible for early release through Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA)
• Reduction of the maximum penalty for juveniles tried as an adult from 25 years to as little as 15 years
• $91 million dollar to mostly untested and unproven non-profit organizations

“Instead of taking the opportunity to address rising crime rates and law enforcement staffing shortages, we have a public safety bill that makes 92% of our prison population immediately eligible for early release,” said Senator Michael Kreun (R-Blaine). “Considering the price of the bill, we are doing too little to fund and support law enforcement agencies. The most troubling section of this bill allows violent criminals to be released early. Though I do agree there is room for earned release programs within our existing structure, we should not release violent criminals earlier than we already do. What is being put forward does little to respect victims and puts our communities at risk. Overall, this bill takes the wrong approach and does not adequately address the valid public safety concerns of families across the state.”

Convicted criminals currently spend two-thirds of their time in incarceration, and the rest on supervised release; the MRRA reduces the amount of incarceration time to one-half of the sentence. This will be applied retroactively and could impact about 7,400 of the approximately 8,000 prisoners in the state. The MRRA only excludes prisoners with a life sentence but does not specifically exclude specific crimes like manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, assault, or domestic assault. This means those who are charged by law enforcement, tried by a judge or jury, and convicted of those crimes could be released significantly earlier than their victims were promised. The MRRA does not require victims have actual notification of their perpetrators early release, just a passive attempt, meaning they may not know their perpetrator has been released early and gives the victim no say in the decision.

Juveniles tried as adults and sentenced to life in prison will also see a reduction in maximum penalties, from 25 years to as little as 15 years. There are 96 individuals whose cases would qualify, and they were convicted of heinous crimes like murdering their family with an ax, raping a woman while stabbing her with a screwdriver, stabbing a woman 173 times and killing a 10-month baby. 

Omitted from the bill is any form of meaningful assistance for law enforcement. Retirements and the “Defund” movement have made it harder to find qualified law enforcement for open positions. With police departments struggling to fill open positions and college struggling to fill classrooms for criminal justice programs, this bill is woefully inadequate to recruit, train, and retain a qualified, professional police force.