Today marks my 2-year anniversary as Community Safety Commissioner. I’m filled with gratitude for the dedicated people who make Minneapolis safer, stronger, and more connected every day. It’s been an honor to guide this work through a time of growth, collaboration, and real progress.
During my tenure over the past two years, we’ve worked together to build a more responsive, transparent, and compassionate approach to community safety. We continue to build out the Safe and Thriving Communities Report and Plan by expanding and enhancing the City’s safety services.
That progress shows up across our city—in new partnerships between residents, community members and first responders, innovative strategies that focus on prevention and wellness, and trust and accountability. Together, we’re reshaping what community safety means in Minneapolis—and how it feels for the people who live, work, attend school and visit here.
This work is not without challenges. But every conversation, every community meeting, and every act of service reminds me that lasting change begins with listening and working together. I’m deeply proud of the commitment shown by our city departments and the resilience of our communities.
Minneapolis Police Department
The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) continues to make measurable progress toward meaningful reform and accountability. By implementing the state Settlement Agreement and adoption of the federal consent decree, which was advanced this year under Mayor Frey’s Executive Order, MPD is rebuilding a department rooted in transparency, professionalism, and community partnership.
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Police reform
We've made meaningful progress in implementing policy changes, oversight systems, and beginning officer training. We have also made significant progress in clearing the backlog of police conduct review cases.
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Rebuilding the department
MPD has seen a 135% increase in officer applications, exceeding 600 officers—the most diverse department in the city’s history.
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Safety progress outcomes
Violent crime, including carjackings, assaults, and shootings, has decreased significantly. Data show early, but encouraging, progress in our efforts to reduce gun violence across the city.
Neighborhood Safety Department
Our Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD) continues to build a comprehensive system of community-based safety, violence prevention and healing.
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Accountability and performance
We've added new metrics and contract requirements to track performance, outcomes, and community impact, ensuring programs are effective and aligned with citywide safety goals.
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Continued expansion
NSD is deepening partnerships and scaling violence prevention and restorative programs that address root causes of harm and support long-term healing.
Minneapolis Fire Department
Our Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) now oversees the Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) team, our team of mental health professionals and practitioners who can be dispatched to provide crisis intervention, counseling, and metal health support. In addition, MFD continues to serve our community through reliable fire and special operation response, as well as provide risk reduction and community outreach services.
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Welcoming new firefighters
We are increasing the number of firefighters in the city, recently graduating 18 cadets from the academy.
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Diverse staff who reflect our community
We’ve increased the department’s diversity to better reflect the community we serve, highlighted by the first all Indigenous fire crew in the city.
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Transition in leadership
We are starting the search for a new chief to lead the department, after Chief Bryan Tyner recently announced his retirement following 30 years of service with the city. Chief Tyner leaves a lasting legacy in Minneapolis, which you can read more about in a featured story below.
911 in the Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center
The Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center is modernizing how we respond to emergencies. We’ve increased the types of help available and improved our response times.
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Faster response
Call answer times have improved by 10% since last year, with the center now nearly fully staffed.
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Innovative and expanded support
A new embedded social worker responds to and assesses calls in our 911 Emergency Communications Center, helping connect people in crisis with the right care and services. We are sharing more about this new role below.
Emergency Management Department
Our Emergency Management team has led training over the past two years to better prepare the City to respond to emergencies and disasters. The training involved every department and included City leaders and staff.
This preparation was essential in helping the City respond, save lives, and assist the community's recovery during incidents such as the tragic Annunciation and Lake Street shootings and encampment closures. And we are now fighting to protect our disaster preparedness and response capabilities with a lawsuit Minneapolis has brought alongside Chicago and other cities to block the Trump administration from cutting vital funding that supports our team and its life-saving work.
As we look ahead, we’re looking forward to these key milestones:
- Opening the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center—a reflection of our community safety ecosystem that will bring together police, community-based organizations, and essential city and social services in one shared space. Services will include 311, youth programs, domestic violence and mental health support, culturally specific navigators, and more—all designed to make it easier for residents to access the help they need.
- Planning for the new Community Safety Training and Wellness Facility, which is slated on our City’s bonding list. The facility will serve as a modern training and wellness space for our safety professionals.
- Continuing to strengthen coordination with county, state, and local partners to align services and resources citywide as we build out the Safe and Thriving Communities Report and Plan.
Thank you for being part of our journey
As we look ahead, my focus remains clear: ensuring that every person in our city feels safe, respected, and supported. Together, we will continue to build a community safety system rooted in equity, accountability, and transparency.
Thank you for your partnership and for being part of this journey toward a safer, stronger community.
— Todd Barnette, Commissioner
City of Minneapolis Office of Community Safety
 In Minneapolis, we’re strengthening our community safety system to ensure that every person gets the right kind of help when they need it most. Not every 911 call requires a police, fire, or EMS response — sometimes, people simply need someone who can listen, de-escalate, and connect them to care.
That’s why I’m proud to share more about one of our newest innovations: embedding a social worker directly in our 911 center. Inside the Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center (MECC), Melanie Yang is helping redefine what it means to respond with care. As the first social worker in the 911 department, Melanie provides real-time support to people in crisis and helps connect them with mental health care, housing support, and other essential services.
This pilot program, launched in partnership with Hennepin County, gives our dispatchers a new option when calls involve mental health or non-emergency crises — one rooted in empathy and understanding.
As our MECC Director Joni Hodne shared, “When someone calls 911 in distress, we can now meet them with the right support at the right time. Melanie’s expertise gives our dispatchers another option — one rooted in care and understanding.”
This effort supports our Safe and Thriving Communities Report, which calls for new models of safety that address the root causes of crisis and reduce reliance on traditional law enforcement. By expanding this kind of compassionate response, we’re helping residents access the right help faster — strengthening trust, improving outcomes, and advancing a more holistic approach to public safety. Every step like this brings us closer to a safety system that meets the needs of all people — one built on partnership, prevention, and care.
Read more about Melanie and this innovative level of response on our OCS Stories page.
Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner will be retiring at the end of the year
 After more than 30 years of dedicated service, Fire Chief Bryan Tyner will retire at the end of this year. Chief Tyner has been a steady, compassionate, and visionary leader — guiding the Minneapolis Fire Department through some of the most challenging moments in our city’s history.
A proud son of North Minneapolis, Chief Tyner became the City’s second Black Fire Chief in 2020 and has spent his career breaking barriers and building bridges. His leadership strengthened the department’s diversity, launched innovative programs like EMS Pathways and Safe Station, and modernized fire operations to protect residents, community members and firefighters better.
Chief Tyner’s legacy is one of service, progress, and heart. His impact extends far beyond the department — touching lives across Minneapolis through his mentorship, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to community.
As Commissioner of Community Safety, I want to personally thank Chief Tyner for his decades of leadership and his powerful example as a strong and compassionate Black leader. His influence will continue to shape this department and inspire future generations of public servants. We wish him every success as he continues his service to the community as the next Executive Director of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center.
Looking ahead, we are launching a national search for the next Fire Chief — a leader who will build on Chief Tyner’s strong foundation and guide the department into its next era of excellence. I will oversee this process to ensure we find a candidate who reflects our city’s values and commitment to service, safety, and community. An interim chief will be appointed to ensure a smooth transition, and we look forward to formally celebrating Chief Tyner’s contributions in the coming weeks.
Thank you, Chief Tyner, for your decades of service and for showing us what true public leadership looks like. Read more about Chief Tyner's longtime legacy in our city.
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