Rev. Jerry McAfee speaks to the media surrounded by violence interrupters and other violence prevention workers after a Minneapolis City Council meeting at the Public Service Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 13. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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Accusations of mismanaged funds. Finger-pointing among city officials and staff members over conflicts of interest and favoritism in awarding city contracts. Department head changes and staff turnover. Whistleblower letters. Claims of playing politics. A lawsuit settled by the city.

That’s a mess in any context — so here’s a brief history on what we’re talking about specifically:

Since 2018, Minneapolis has had a division of city government focused on violence prevention, and since 2022, it’s been known as the Neighborhood Safety Department. Under this effort, the city contracts with several dozen community groups, including two that use the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) and Youth Group Violence Intervention (YGVI) models, to provide a variety of services directly to at-risks adults and young people. More recently, the city has paid groups — including people with criminal records — to counsel community members who are at risk in order to help reduce crime and diffuse tension, instead of using sworn officers for that purpose.

But over the past couple of years, some aspects of these once-praised efforts have devolved into a difficult mess. Some who participate in the violence-interrupter efforts have said the city stopped paying them after department staff changes. The city also entered into a settlement after being sued for over poor oversight of violence-prevention contracts. An independent study outlines the issues.

Legitimate questions have been raised about oversight of city funds and about whether services are dispatched properly. Things were so bad that several City Council members recently proposed temporarily moving administration of two of the violence-prevention groups and $1.1 million in funding from the city’s Neighborhood Safety Department to Hennepin County — saying they had lost confidence in the city’s ability to handle the effort. That $1.1 million is a small part of the $23 million the department spends on a variety of violence-prevention efforts.

This week, however, Neighborhood Safety Department staff presented a strong set of accountability measures that, if followed, will assure that violence-prevention contractors are held accountable and that the dollars are spent well. The new measures adhere to the recommendations from the study of the department and those in the settled legal action.

In the interim, the full council had put off voting on the proposal to farm out the programs to the county, which is good. Such a change was not the best option. The Neighborhood Safety Department, which is part of the city’s Department of Public Safety, should be given the chance to take corrective measures to effectively administer the programs.

“It’s our job to do the work of the city of Minneapolis — not to pass it on to another agency,” said Council Member Linea Palmisano. Moving a program to the county would delay agreements on contracts and getting started on violence-prevention work. She added that the new rigor in criteria for participation and requirements for receipts and other proof for work done will improve accountability.

Violence prevention and interruption efforts have demonstrated their value in Minneapolis and other cities, including Baltimore, Chicago and Cincinnati. Research shows that they can be effective. They are an important component of the public safety strategy in Minneapolis, and merit continued support.