Thank you. Mike six minutes. Now past 11. Today's programming is made possible in part by The Advocates of Minnesota Public Radio controller is include Cargill supporting Minnesota's tradition of community service and Norwest foundation on behalf of lowry Hill. And good morning. Welcome to mid-day on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary. I too many apples police release some encouraging figures last week serious crime in the city homicides rapes Saul's arson and theft serious crimes were down 14% during the first nine months of the year, but the news recently course hasn't been all good the n-double-acp. So Minneapolis Police are targeting and harassing minorities and running roughshod over the rights of people in the city. And then of course there was the quote from a 300-pound bouncer who works in the popular Warehouse District in Downtown Minneapolis following a shooting at a nightclub in the area when he was quoted as saying that even he is afraid to walk to his car after the bar is closed. So what is the situation in Minnesota's largest city or to take your questions is Minneapolis Police. Chief Robert Olson, and we certainly invite you to join our conversation as well. We're talking about crime in the City of Minneapolis. Just what the situation is what the future is likely to hold. Give us a call or Twin City area number is 227-6002 276 thousand. I'll try the Twin Cities 1-800 242-282-8227 6000 or 1 802-422-8283. Thanks for joining us appreciate it. I guess everybody has perceptions of safer, but we do know that as compared with last year. 4000 of our residents were not the victim of a part one crime and by that I mean homicide rape robbery aggravated assault burglary larceny motor vehicle theft and those are pretty significant numbers. That's that equates to about 14% down from last year. So so they it was safer for 4,000 people than it was last year. Do you think people in the city feel safer? I don't hear it all but I know from the comments that I received from citizen groups and and certainly calls. I've noted a lot more where people have noted that things are different specially down the Phillips neighborhood. The people tell me a Lake Street and his is far quieter than it's been in years and frankly. I'm not getting the complaint. So that's a pretty good indicator that we've had in the past. So we feel real good that something good is happening out there. What do you suppose is happening art or fewer crimes being committed. If you are people being harassed or are you arresting more people getting more people off the streets certainly has to do with with communities being more involved. It has probably something to do with maybe there's some just natural Trends here, but there's been such a drop that if we just can't count it for that. We can't blame it on the weather my gosh. We've had the most wonderful summer and winter that we've ever had in a long time and the police department under code for has initiated / 6400 exits / 500 now more. Arrests and Order Criminal citations, then it did last year. Now that's about a 30% increase in those kinds of contacts and what were thinking and in our research has shown us that these folks who have been doing these minor things out. There are the same people who end up doing the bigger things those part 1 crimes that I mentioned earlier. So we feel that our pressure on those smaller kinds of crimes and on those particular individuals who are repeat offenders of those kinds of crimes. We think that's delivered directly related to the reductions in you know, people getting their houses kicked in in their car stolen and things stolen off of their property and that kind of thing as you know, the n-double-acp says this Improvement has coming to cost that many many people are being harassed illegally by the police. So largely people of color, I heard that and I'm in and I'm sad to say I've heard that through the media and I don't I don't know who that represents in the n-double-acp and I feel bad that they that they would say that at least without even talking to us. I've never been contacted by anyone from that organization then and asked to sit down as I have done with the Urban League and other organizations in and talked about what we've done but We also under code for track that sort of thing and and we gave special training to our officers. And now let's remember we have 6500 Edition and let's face it arrests and citations are negative contacts the most citizens. So we've already got that negativity there and I've also over the last several years the Marin Council authorized there's over a hundred more cops on the streets. So we got more cops making more rest and under the code for we've been tracking citizen complaints and let you know in Minneapolis. We have a civilian review Authority, which is totally different from us in the sense that there's a aren't under me and they do independent investigations if the people aren't comfortable complaining to the police department and so far this year at least up to August 31st. Last year the civilian review Authority had received 212 complaints against misconduct against police officers. So far this year as of August 31st that has dropped to 62. We're talking almost a 50% drop there and even our internal complaint Square last year that time we had 64 complaints against officers in our own Internal Affairs that's dropped to 56. And so even though I could see where people might steal they didn't want to complain to the police department. But we have a civilian review Authority who people frankly have never been shy about making complaints to them and that has dropped dramatically. And so I have to without seeing something else have to kind of discount that were harassing people. We are not doing that. Yes. We are stopping more people. Yes, we are paying attention to offenses that maybe a year ago. We weren't paying that much attention to do that but our officers and we made it clear in the training. We have not lowered the bar of police Behavior one bit. They are still expected to act professionally and deal with the citizens as customers and and and do their job and do it in a polite respectful way. What's going on downtown? Is it safe? Well, yes, it is even have the short even after the bars close Downtown is is is the safest any neighborhood in the city. In fact been in probably better policed. If you're downtown during the business time, if you're downtown when the bar restaurants in theaters are open in your down here having a good time doing the kinds of things that we want people to come down and do your totally safe. If you want to go to a Vikings game or go over to the Target Center Nicollet Mall. Have a great time. You're okay. But if you're down here at one 1:32 in the morning and you're drunk and you're spoiling for some trouble, you're probably going to find it and and we have been experiencing some of that. We beefed up our officers downtown drink certain nights. It seems like Thursday and Saturday for whatever reason. Folks want to come down here and see and be seen and a lot of them are intoxicated or using drugs and trouble can happen. So we're working closely with the business district to try and correct some of that but downtown is a safe place. It's a safe place to work in a safe place to come down and have a good time. But your advice to people who don't want to get in trouble who will do when I have a good time. Can they hang around till the bars close without worrying about getting beat up on the way to their car and we hope that they would do the crime prevention things that we ask everyone to do and is you know avoid them get away from him get to a phone call us. We've got a lot of police presence down there. We could we want identify who these characters are in and take them out. So but yeah, you should be able to come down there and enjoyed a meal and maybe a late drink after a Timberwolves game and If you don't go home when you supposed to Indianapolis Police Chief Robert Olson is our guests this hour and if you'd like to join our conversation, give us a call Twin City area number is 227-6002 276 thousand. I'll try the Twin Cities. 1-800. 242-282-8227. 6001. 800-242-2828 Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson joining us during this first hour of midday before we get to our first caller one other thing. I want to bring up we were talking about the fact that arrests are up substantially you hear about all these people being arrested arrested arrested re-arrested and kind of a revolving door catch and release is that happening. Well, yes, it is to some degree and it's not really anybody's fault. It's just that are the rest of our system just wasn't geared up to handle this and Has been some significant pressures put on Pat McGowan of people who have just been wonderful the sheriff's department, but it's really cause some Jam Up Sand and there is relief on the way. I certainly with the new jail facility that I was glad to be down for their groundbreaking here a little while ago, but that's not going to be online until 2001 in the interim. The sheriff has gotten some additional County resources to kind of help him a staff the jail to handle some of that but it's still going to be a problem and and and with that in mind recognizing the code for is not going to go away because code for work. It is absolutely working. So what the city wants to do is to help with the rest of the system. Now the mayor and Council have already authorized the hiring of nine additional attorneys for the city attorney's office who handle misdemeanors and those people are being hired in fact as we speak. On top of that. We are working with the county authorities the public defender the county attorney's office adult probation parole Corrections and the court administration and the courts itself to put together a legislative proposal that's being drafted with them by our City attorney Jay hefferon. So that we can go to the legislature this next round and at least ask for a couple years of stopgap assistance from the state as we get to get through this transition. We do have for those repeat offender folks are City attorney is especially staffed up for that and so is the jail those folks get held when we we we got decrease in cash with top 10 character that's causing the most grief and I when those folks arrive they've been doing some real good things to deal with them, but there's still a lot of repeat people that their frankly no room in the Inn. And we're hopeful that by working together will be able to get that results in the meanwhile to people who are being released are any of them some of them all of them dangerous or are they just people who ran afoul of the law and some minor way what they're trying to do is identify those dangerous people as best they can and then figure out a way to hold them. I know a path to Farms out a lot of his pre-trial detainee stew other counties and they're spending a lot of money doing that frankly, but but but they're trying to hold on to them, but it's some of these folks who consistently do those Petty things that are just frankly a pain in the behind some of the neighborhoods that they keep that they frankly do find their way back out on the street. And I don't know what the total answer is to that. But but we're working on it cheap Robert oil soon. As our guest again. If you have a question for the chief 2276 thousand to 276 thousand outside the Twin Cities one. 800-242-2828 Minneapolis Police Chief. Robert. Olson. Laura is on the line from Minneapolis with a question. Glad Laura. How many policemen on foot is there is on a Hennepin Avenue during the weekday? I had an incident where I wanted to get ahold of policemen not for myself, but for someone else And I went all the way from Washington Avenue just broke Hill theater and couldn't find nobody to report what I had on the next day. I spoke to a couple patrolman put the coil and they said that they were the only two people that I had to go from 1st Avenue to I told I don't know what what is the situation there. How many foot patrol people are on Hennepin Avenue during the day I don't have that number right in front of me. I do know that since we created the downtown command two years ago that we now have 69 officers assigned just to downtown plus their sergeants and lieutenants that adds a few more and then we have our community response team of eight officers that are also working downtown and they work in various modes. They might be on bicycles one day. They might be on foot. They might be Undercover on another day on top of that. There are several beat assignments and to my knowledge. There's at least two to four we're going to happen all the time again, depending on the time of day not to mention occasionally our horses and other vehicles. We have squad cars working there as well. So I could see where a day you might walk down Hennepin and not see them and it could be that they're doing something else or or whatever, but I can I can guarantee you they're there and I'm sorry that when you did need one you didn't you didn't spot one there very soon. Let me ask you this cheap Alton you always hear. Well, if you can't police your way out of the crime problem, right? Cuz there's no point in hiring. Thousands of police officers why not? I mean wouldn't at least in the short run I would think officer friendly on every corner which would significantly reduce the incidence of crime. Well, what are we do is this place it actually what you what you're talking about is armed guards. So that criminals who are really going to do criminal acts are going trying to have to go someplace else and and then certainly there's some to turn with that but it takes undercurrent methodology to take seven officers to put one on a corner 24 hours a day in 20 officers cost taxpayers a million dollars plus that gets going up even less than that for a million. So we're talking about a lot of money here in in in in like you said, you're just talking about short-term relief as our code for his shown the 922 officers we have right now are doing a wonderful job and there's plenty folks to be arrested these these people are people who need to be arrested in what's happening. But we really need to think about is what do we do with these folks are probation people for example in the county are absolutely overwhelmed to get the ticket probation. You didn't get a lot of anything. You almost beat the rap because they just don't have the people to do the the Relentless follow-up to make sure that these folks follow the probation and stay on the straight-and-narrow. And so we really need to do is take a look at ourselves as a community. We're not going to arrest our way out. We just can't keep killing the prisons up cuz that's all we're going to do we got to do is find some of those Rudy issues take aggravated assaults. For example, we're finding that a significant percentage of those are domestic assaults. So we need to be doing things to help families and straighten them out so that this is usually the case the mail isn't beating the hell out of that the woman or the or abusing the kids and we got to have programs to do something with that and and and I could go on for each and every other crime I mean Free example we could drop Auto Sales another 25% tomorrow if I could if I could get our residents God love them from leaving her keys in the car. So there's a lot of longer-term community social things that need to come into play so that these crimes aren't being committed. You know, we've got a we've got a group of young people. That is the most responsible for the most crime people that are in that age group of about 15 to 24. And what we really need to be thinking about is that age group right now is sitting at about 29 million in this country. It's going to grow to 41 million. So what we need to be doing is figuring out ways to keep kids from getting an into the criminal justice system in the first place. So those squads have to arrest them and that means good programs. That's keeping them in school. That's making sure they graduate from school that's making sure that they get mentoring and all those other things that we could talk more than the 40 minutes or so. We're going to be together today back to the phones Christine your question, please If I'm coming from Apple Valley, but I don't actually live in that when I work at work here but live in North Minneapolis, which I'm sure the chief would consider the war zone and I guess I'm calling to beg to differ about the lack of harassment or it's going out as a result of code for the reason why I say that is that might have personal experience to my husband who has been stopped at least two or three times for absolutely nothing and we live on the Block and he just get stopped by the officers cuz he's a black male driving down the alley Force we live on that alley and I guess I have mixed emotions about it given that I live in a war zone. Of course. I feel like you know, I'd like to have a livable neighborhood but that does not mean that it's not going on with him and that it's not and that the harassment is not been increased. It has been it's just that you know, who's going to spend the time to go complaining and basically feel like they're in their complaints are going to go on and it answered. Anyway, we had to get an apology will what does it do? Basically we don't Have a lot of time. We're busy people both work. We have a child in another one on the way. It's just not worth the time but that does not mean that it's not happening. So I just wanted to beg to differ on that and say that in some ways. I do support another way is it's it's an irritating thing to feel like, you know, as a result that live in that neighborhood in order for that to happen. We have to be the victims of harassment by the out from the officers time in Oneida. I like I don't call it a war zone and I live on the North side myself and then I guess I understand what you're saying and maybe some of this comes down to what we feel is harassment as far as your particular incident, please feel free to call my office will find out the why as opposed to why they got stopped in and what was the reasoning behind it and did the author act professional and all that and we recognize that someone that's going to happen if officers are watching for burglars and people who are prowling alleys in the going to stop cars that are coming down the alley to find out if in fact the have a right to be in there. We have an ordinance. In fact that says if you Adele you do not have the right to to go through it on the other side. I know that there have been those comments about race and what not and I do understand that and I'd be the first one to say that a lot of the high crime areas that we don't we should focus on behavior. And that's what code for is about we go to where the actual criminal acts are being reported so they can get there in a hurry and try and shut them down and sad to say that a goodly number of that those incidents and things are in fact happening in neighborhoods where we have people of color and the other side of that coin is is that when we take a look at the victimization songs that are going on against citizens, frankly the people who are being victimized are more likely to be people of color. So recognizing that up front we try to do everything we can to the balance and make sure that we're doing it in the right way and an inch. How to make the quality of life for the people who live in in again I'll argue about where is Sean but the folks who live there do have a right to to live in peace and and then we're going to do everything we can to help make that work there has been a long history. I think it's fair to say long history of distrust between the especially the African American community in Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department to get the sense that that's changed at all. Well, I I certainly do and not only to the fact that the fact that our complaint levels are are starting to go down and that we're finding more and better communication. I mean that's that's really the key. We have to get out in those neighborhoods and talk with a resume to let him know what we're doing and get their input and we did that with code for I recall this summer. We did a big operation on the Northside that just off of pain there in. About twenty-six where we were really just stopping folks for any violation and we didn't we put signs up saying we were doing it and we had Community groups that came out and General Mills provided Refreshments. We put a boots where are citizens. We gave our crime prevention tips. Then at the same time officers were stopping cars that had loud boom boxes and busted tail lights and plates that didn't match the cars and frankly the other residents. Most of them were folks of color. We're out there kind of cheering the cops on and so we had we had those kind of things happening which makes me feel good, but we still have a long road to go. We have we have a great relationship. For example with the Urban League and I along with everybody else. So sure satin win that Gary set of last left off last year passed on but now Clarence High Towers in there and and I've already had a very good meeting with him to make sure those channels communicate. Are there and and I've even asked clearance to work with us to set up some meetings with those folks that you don't always just get to to talk about what you shoes are going on out there. So we're constantly working at it. But I really believe our relationships are better today certainly than they were several years ago and Annapolis Police Chief. Robert. Olson is our guests this hour if you'd like to join our conversation to 276 thousand in the Twin City area to 276 thousand outside the Twin Cities want 802-422-8280. Get some more colors in just a moment. Hello. Oh, hi Kimberly. Your mom says you can't go tell her to Street dance and supper for A Prairie Home Companion, you know meatloaf and mashed potatoes and stuff. But don't tell her about the dance part of the dinner will be fine. I'll meet you there. We can have dinner and dance it off. Okay? Yeah, it's in the street outside the Fitzgerald theater in downtown Saint Paul Saturday night 7. Garrison Keillor Lutheran coming up over the noon hour today second hour of our midday program. We're going to take a look at what has become a vital phenomena and one that is well has the potential to turn our world upside down program is called the world upside down and it takes a look at the phenomena of deflation the all the latest information on just how yesterday's rate by the Federal Reserve is going to affect the economy in the rest updated version of the award-winning. The world turned upside down that's coming up over the noon hour today programming on Minnesota Public Radio is supported by standard heating and air conditioning Twin Cities Home Comfort Experts for 69 years featuring York Heating and Cooling products are the cloudy skies are forecast for Northwestern Minnesota cloudy elsewhere windy and cold air across the state today with eyes just from the low 50s in the North to the mid-sixties in southern Minnesota windy and cold here in the Twin Cities cloudy sky and a high forecast near 60 right now. It's 53 and cloudy in the Twin City area Minneapolis Police Chief Robert. Olson is our guest this hour were talking about crime and crime prevention in the City of Minneapolis to 276 thousand. If you'd like to join our conversation Twin City area number to 276 thousand. I'll try the Twin Cities one 800-242-2828 lawyer, please. You here repeatedly getting these criminals off of the street and keeping him off of the street from simple assault to murder and so on and you can you hear that in earlier portion of this program, every politician is running for office to saying the same thing. What are we headed toward a life sentence for simple assault are we headed toward martial law or you know, it's kind of a scary thought. We just start locking people up for the rest of their life without any consideration for their future or the rehabilitation their families with the destruction is done to the families that are involved in in some of these things and weird Escalades to and it seems like once once at a teenager in my observations that once you are in the criminal justice system, and it may be Are the teenager for something is as minor as breaking a car window is an example that you you get on that list and you are on that list and and to get out of the system no matter what little thing that you do u r r e arrested and more Style Don and more is piled on and Morris Tile done. I know people I'm 52 years old and I know people that for four things that they actually did not submit are still in the criminal justice system 15 years later. Well, I don't disagree with that actually just put them away and I think I mentioned that earlier is not not how you do things part of the problem. Any I'm glad you brought up use cuz that's really the key to this business. I mean, there's some older folks hear the frankly. I think we're wasting our time on them. I mean lately been criminals for so long that the dish ultimately they're going to commit the Big Kahuna on we got to we got to put them away for a long time. But there's a lot of young people that do the kinds of things that he mentioned in and that's where we really need to change things. You know, you say once in the criminal justice system or right now part of the problem is that just because of how are structured not a question of fault week. We have not put people into any kind of system for those first several offenses and and you know, they got a stick in a steel or third car get caught in all of them before somebody wakes up and says G's, you know, we we are to be doing something with his kid well, but I feel is that we need to use the course of power of the of the of the criminal justice system when that kid is caught the first time riding in a stolen car and it's somebody gets a hold of that kid and find out what's going on with him. And why was he riding in that car? What's wrong? What's wrong? It's cool with whatever that is that we need to do with that young person to get him back on the straight and narrow rather than wait until the police actually catch him doing something and then it's the third or fourth time that he's caught doing it that the system starts to get in there with with things to make it to make something happen What should the citizens agree with you on that? Who should they call? What should they do to change the system or make sure the system changes so that that starts to happen system certainly but to just their voice of being a Citizens. I think what they really should do is get themselves better educated about what the issues really are and then you know, I really believe that citizen activism in that that means, you know calling and asking tough questions and bend in supporting people who who who come up with some real Not just got on the back stuff, but it does seem like the buckets passed hair back and forth back and forth. And and for people who you know who are up on the issues and rabble-rousers want to actually do something constructive, you know, if you complain to the judges they all say well it's not really our problem rage complaint to the police when I tried our problem and show the citizen is kind of left me hanging. There are ways you can get involved in your your community. There are there different kinds of advisory groups. There's there's all kinds of ways depending on a person's ability and time that they want to commit to that but I think they can get involved and they can certainly get involved in the political process which a lot of our residents of the state certainly do if it's a big complicated thing, I think. The criminal justice system is really a series of independent systems that don't always work in sink and and I think citizen should demand that that that that system work in Sinking support those folks who Advocate making that happen Herbert your question Place helping helping these people that are on first and second offenses and kids and so forth like that and even even older people I'm over 65 and I like to help people and when I hear of of people being released because there's no room. I might my question is why are they put on public service? Why isn't there a why isn't the somebody organizing to say who is out there that can help these people to Mentor these there's a lot of people over there. Outside is that are willing to do this but nobody does anything in this is very irritating. What if what if one of these kids wrote in a police car for a shift with a couple of policemen and see what the policeman really goes through things like that it is so they have the experience and lower the pressure that a policeman has to go through and nosy and Ed knows how they do to you through your rationality of House people like this a person on probation go through the things like that, but somebody should be organizing these things because I hear it every crime program everything on the radio and television says we should be doing this but nobody can actually go out and do it. It is no organizer in the country. Frustrated Citizen Chief of some of those frustrations, especially in a city like Minneapolis that is very rich and community-based organizations. And I think I was glad to see when I came here three and a half years ago is that the city had a a used Coordinating Board structure group of people who their job was to try and coordinate the service is one of those Services frankly. They are there and many of them are in fact being coordinated but we've got an awful long ways to go to try and and and put those things together and make them work and it's a complicated thing and I'm not going to sit here and even tell you that I got an answer. I wish I did I'd be writing a book and selling it I guess but the Minneapolis census blast though with what resources that has but you said there be disjunctive sometimes and that we got to figure out a better way to make that happen, and I'm not even sure you know Happens back to the phone. So Edward your question for chief alter a few minutes ago. The crime is done. How come all the politicians cream crime crime crime in crime is going down. Another thing you talked about this program that was on Broadway while I live close to the neighborhood never saw what you was talkin about. So another thing that's a bunch of bumps second. Thirdly. We went down to the Plymouth Police Station. My wife was assaulted by a neighbor my wife and I said in that police station office for 2 hours trying to get a report of what happened. The guy that came to our house the officer that the death of the time told us that the officer was not in the guy that walked into the door, maybe 10 minutes later handed the office at the desk with a pizza and a pizza and we sat there and waited for this information office at the desk at the door lock me up because I asked to get a report on how to file a report against police officers who came instead of blocking this woman. Immediately told me that they would lock me up. So what you were saying in essence about the good this in the kindness of the office is a bunch of crap cold for is nothing more than our wrestling. That's all it is. I've seen it time and time again, you know what you're saying? I don't know anything about the particulars of what incident occurred. I guess I can always see only tell you if that was a recent occurrence the inspector Chris Morris that Precinct you should be down there filing a complaint with her and believe me you'll be treated appropriately and if somebody was out of line, but I got that will handle it your earlier comment relative to the politicians saying things about crime and politicians do that. We're not saying that and nothing in Broadway. I'm sorry you missed it was it was really up off of Penn and 26th Street, but it was it was really a great Affair and it happened at the at the end. Big picture on crime statistics now to indicate that the crime is down. But if you look at this from a historical perspective when Minneapolis is a much larger City in terms of population crime rates are way way up from what they used to be. I think a lot of it is demographics in the change that occurred though as a baby boomers matured in the sixties and got more at the crime prone age group a crime steadily climbed all through the sixties and through the 70s right up to about 1981 where it level 2 off and it's kind of been halfway dropping since then actually if you look at the the rate so that is true the current percentage drop. However that we've been experiencing we went back 20 years in our files and then found nothing even close to that so I think what you're pointing out is that I don't know that America will ever be able to go back to 1960. I just don't think that's realistic that that's going to happen. But at the same token, I think we can really make some progress here and in the early indications that lease for code for is that that's happening and we're going to keep right on doing it knows maybe someday we will get down close to those kind of yellow thing up and putting together the last couple of comments we had on the one hand were urge to get involved and support people are politicians who who are speaking out on these issues in the other hand. There's the charge of demagoguery any way to tell one from the other What if I had the answer to that one American people get to work how you tell the difference and maybe that's just America. I mean that's just how I Democratic process works and there's an old adage, you know, they say you get the government you deserve and hence. The reason for citizens to really get educated on these subjects so that when people do shark talking about they can tell the difference between demagoguery and somebody who's really got a good useful thought about how to solve one of this nation's most difficult Terry your question. Please say that I think that the Minneapolis Police are doing a great job. I do have a question as to what are the long-range plans to increase the diversity of the police force and also make a comment that it strikes me that when we see on the news of the reactions to some of the chi Things have been happening in the month Community. Is it sometimes we're kind of operating on a reactive basis two things in minority communities because it doesn't seem like the relationship is there. Thank you. What carries thank you for your compliment. And when you speak about diversity that is a very it's an important thing to me because I I really believe that a police department needs to reflect the community that it serves and even though Minnesota is as far ahead of Most states. And then we require a two-year degree and an Anna skills program through or junior colleges just to get licensed as an officer. Where is another States if you're a GED or high school grad you just join and then they put you through a training program. So what kind of a head in that regard but by the same token that the licensing thing has caused us some real problems with the lack of minority candidates coming out of that college system. So the police department in order to try and change that got permission to start a Cadet program, which is was in place before I came and I've enhanced it since I've been here where we can take anyone with a college. Greedy, and then we put them through a special semester at the colleges and they get that law enforcement licensing ability. And then we put them into the Academy cost the city more money to do that and it takes a 7 months to get them get them through as opposed to three the normal wear for the normal way. We think it's worth it and we've been increasing our diversity through that additionally this year 98 the mirror council-funded a program to call it but it's a it's a community service officer position. We're taking 10. We took five positions and I turn them into halftime positions of 20 hours a week and and we go out mostly into our communities of color to do recruiting and for women and we bring them in and we pay them to work for us 20 hours a week. And then we pay their tuition while they go to college and as soon as they get that 2-year college degree week and then promote them. Up into the police department and in so far with our first group here. I'm very pleased with the number of people coloring in it. It's a long-term thing as you pointed out as a strategy but we've been making some really great thing as far as the Asian community in some of the issues that have come up even though I think the bulk of our Asian the community in Minnesota lot of it's certainly in St. Paul that we have our share as well. At least from the police department's perspective. We have a very very successful Southeast Asian outreach program on where several of our officers are very well connected with them and we have regular meetings with them and regular activities. We do education and in your Priestly, right? There are some real issues not just in the monk Community as you mentioned, but with with many of our new immigrant And it really goes down to the social issues involving the old world culture and then coming to America and their children becoming Americanized and the old culture can handle it very well, and it really puts dresses on these very traditional families. And so I think we're seeing some of that end and we certainly need to have more Outreach to deal with those new immigrant Community. A lot of time left, but let's get at least one more call her on your crush. My name is a Christmas and I'm too personally police brutality committee for the Minneapolis branch of the NAACP. And I was on the principal organizers of the press conference. It was held last week with we bought forward people with victims of code for police brutality. And I guess my thoughts are different than the Chiefs in the in the mayor's I think that what we are confronting here in Minneapolis and I think Ben many cities around the country is a problem of police department's which are out of control and apartments which it has systematically Target communities of color in particular for very brutal and anti-democratic treatment. Nothing Minneapolis is a city that falls into that vein outside. The Human Rights Watch report was just a few months ago with some highlights Minneapolis. As one of the cities with police brutality is a big and and and growing problem. I guess my time it would be One that I think that we have to look at the human face of programs like cold for what it really means for people in the communities that are targeted for Selective enforcement of these Petty laws. And that's what I think they have some too cold for is I think it's a program that targets communities of color for Selective enforcement of these laws and and the whole criminalization process that goes along with the implementation of this program. I think helps to set the stage the psychological stage that with which people can be a deprived of the democratic rights of brutalized and beat up with no public outcry. That's what I think is the at the essence of a programs like cold for Safe Streets mayor giuliani's program in New York Quality of Life are the programs respond before I run out of time. But you know, we don't tolerate brutality within the police department at all. And and they said many bars are complaint levels are down and everything else. I do know that undercoat for with those four thousand less victims of serious crimes in Minneapolis that a great number of them were in fact members of our communities of color who were not victimized because of code for if I have to trade off on stopping a few thugs in the neighborhood and and not stopping them and then allowing citizens in those neighborhoods to be victimized. I'm going to I'm going to side with the citizens every time you know, you mentioned that Human Rights Watch report, which I read it would know that I was the only police chief that did in fact respond to their questions and that they had only singled us as one of the Cities based on news articles that they had put together and after I spoken with him in again if you read the article you Find that the Minneapolis Police Department was not condemned in that book. But in fact I praised for how far it had come in correcting many of the old problems that we did have and there's even some quotes from Professor Sam Walker University of nebraska-omaha praising our civilian review Authority in our relationship with that. So I didn't look at that book frankly is being a condemnation of police department. But but in fact they say a compliment to some of the good things that are officers have done. She has tested being out of control. I can only say again that anybody that has been offended by the department. We want to know about it and we will take action we're to propriate. Unfortunately we're out of time, but we sure appreciate you joining us today. Thank you. Thanks a lot Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson a joining us this first hour of our midday program to talk about crime and crime prevention in the City of Minneapolis. Like to thank all of you who been What's the shower specially those of you who called in or trying to call in with your questions and comments and also an invitation to join us over the noon hour special documentary look at deflation right now. It's time for The Writer's Almanac.