{"id":30468,"date":"2022-04-06T16:29:31","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T16:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/06\/new-laws-tougher-sentences-how-legislative-republicans-want-to-address-crime-in-minnesota\/"},"modified":"2022-04-06T16:29:31","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T16:29:31","slug":"new-laws-tougher-sentences-how-legislative-republicans-want-to-address-crime-in-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/06\/new-laws-tougher-sentences-how-legislative-republicans-want-to-address-crime-in-minnesota\/","title":{"rendered":"New laws, tougher sentences: How legislative Republicans want to address crime in Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Since the start of Minnesota\u2019s legislative session, one way that Republicans who control the state Senate have pledged to address public safety is by creating new categories of violent crimes and extending prison sentences for offenders.<\/span><\/p>\n

That strategy is now reflected in an omnibus bill \u2014 which rolls dozens of proposals into a single piece of legislation \u2014 <\/span>released by the Senate\u2019s Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee<\/span><\/a> last week. The bill includes at least a dozen measures that would require tougher criminal penalties and create or expand designations for at least eight crimes, ranging from a new carjacking statute to a broader anti-burglary law.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMinnesota is experiencing a drastic increase in violent crime across our state, and criminals are not being held accountable for their crimes,\u201d said Sen. Warren Limmer, a Maple Grove Republican who chairs the public safety committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Senate GOP bills the plan as \u201ctough on crime\u201d policy that will lead to a safer state, many of the proposals likely face opposition in the Democratic-led House, where DFLers have <\/span>taken a different approach to crime<\/span><\/a> that includes spending on police, but also community violence intervention programs and many initiatives that don\u2019t involve law enforcement.<\/span><\/p>\n

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House and Senate leaders will negotiate later in the session to see if they can agree on any legislation that can clear the full Legislature. But the Senate GOP\u2019s omnibus bill still signals key priorities for the party and shows how wide the gulf is between the House and Senate\u2019s public safety plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What the bill does<\/h4>\n

The GOP\u2019s <\/span>public safety bill<\/span><\/a> includes plenty of new spending from Minnesota\u2019s $9.25 billion budget surplus. Senate Republicans proposed more than $71 million for police departments meant to help with hiring, retaining and rewarding officers, $5 million to help police buy body cameras, $3 million for youth intervention program grants and $2 million for a gunshot detection system in Ramsey County, among other initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Much of the bill is tied to new criminal violations and sentencing rules. Limmer told reporters last week that he wanted to focus on penalties for repeat offenders, carjackers, and violent crimes that involve guns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill includes several policies aimed at carjacking and fleeing police. One measure establishes carjacking as a crime \u2014 a violent carjackings would typically be charged right now as a robbery \u2014 and sets minimum sentences of between two and six years and maximum sentences of between 15 and 25 years based on details of the case. Those maximum sentences are longer than ones for robbery in similar circumstances,<\/span> according to Senate researchers<\/span><\/a>, and there is no mandatory minimum sentence for robbery crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The omnibus plan would also increase maximum penalties for stealing a car when that vehicle was used within a week \u201cin furtherance\u201d of committing a violent crime. For a car valued at $5,000 or less, the maximum prison sentence would increase from five to 10 years, and for a car worth more than $5,000, the penalty would jump from 10 to 15 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

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