Gov. Walz, St. Paul leaders detail plans for state's $13.6 million public safety aid

Officials gathered in St. Paul on Wednesday to reveal how plans to use $13.6 million in state funding would affect mental health and emergency responses and hopefully create a reduction in gun violence across the city.

Speaking in front of the St. Paul Police Department, Gov. Tim Walz said the money is part of a historic $300 million investment in public safety efforts across Minnesota. Much of that support is one-time funding, but Walz added that he plans to return to the Legislature to this year to argue that "we're making progress."

"We're just getting started in making sure that we continue on this positive trend," Walz said. "We need to respond when things happen, but we get this too: investments in early childhood education, investments in things that allow us to move away or move someone away from the criminal justice system into other paths."

Although the aid is one-time funding, Mayor Melvin Carter believes the support will bring long-term effects.

Carter's proposed budget would spend about half of that $13.6 million on gun violence intervention initiatives across the next three years. Such initiatives have reported success in recovering guns and supporting victims, but he and other officials say there's more work to do.

"We're always stressed and strained for resources to just maintain the systems and maintain the infrastructure that we currently operate," Carter said. "We're working to fill the significant decadeslong gaps that have existed in the systems that are designed to protect people. This is the all-in approach that we're taking in St. Paul. Our community members, our businesses, our children deserve nothing less."

That all-in approach would translate to gun-violence initiatives, another police training academy, education to hire more trained paramedics and emergency medical technicians, and equipment and mental health resources for firefighters.

Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) Director Brooke Blakey said the investments answer the community's needs by hiring more outreach staff, social workers and mental health specialists to help prevent people from turning to crime.

Blakey's office has worked closely with St. Paul police to meet the community's needs, and police officials say such collaboration is having an effect.

Police Chief Axel Henry said their work alongside community partners this year has led to a 50% decrease in carjackings and 774 fewer calls for shots being fired. Henry reported similar drops in the number of nonfatal shootings, but said it's important they continue such efforts.

"Not one condition has caused our violence problem in our country, in our state, or in our city. And it's not going to be one thing that gives us a solution to that," Henry said. "It's us working together in concert with one another to make sure that we hold those people accountable that are committing crimes ... but also working to make those key preventions and interventions in the future so that the younger folks that are coming up and watching this behavior aren't deciding to do it themselves."

Police, ONS and other departments cannot use the $13.6 million funding until council members approve a finalized budget for the city. They are expected to meet and do so in December.