Perspectives In Policing: An Examination of Viewpoints of Twin Cities, Minnesota Law Enforcement Personnel

This work engages the perspectives of law enforcement personnel and ex-personnel within the Twin Cities, Minnesota metropolitan area. It particularly focuses on their opinions and experiences during and after the social upheaval sparked by George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020. Five respondents provided in-depth interviews focusing most on feeling under siege, the challenges in rank and officer accountability, and the critical issues around mental health support in the field. They also talked about a clear increase in anti-cop media. Despite this, however, they all spoke about a “silent majority” of supporters - which seemed to be a critical element to each respondent in their own way. It seemed that if the perceived support in their communities fades, so too could the pride in doing the job. All five also discussed the intense challenges presented by the critical staffing decrease since 2020, seeing all aforementioned existing issues and tensions exacerbated through their staffing shortages and spread-thin workloads. This research will hopefully contribute to an understanding of policing and systemic issues from within, especially in the Twin Cities. With just five participants, this study’s small scope is a way to begin engaging with this community about these complex topics. Ideally, following this research thread will help to address factors that affect individual officers and decrease the amount of people negatively impacted, injured or killed by the police system.