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FACT BRIEF

Has the number of police officers in Minneapolis declined by more than a third in recent years?

By Jayne Williamson-Lee
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YES

The Department of Justice reported that as of May 2023, there were 585 sworn officers in the Minneapolis Police Department compared to a force of 892 in 2018, a decline of about 34%. 

“Since 2020, hundreds of officers have left MPD, up and down the ranks, young and old, patrol officers and supervisors,” the report notes. A number of others are on extended medical leave, with continued efforts to recruit and hire more proving unsuccessful. 

The city reported in 2019 that it had 888 officers. By early 2021, the Star Tribune reported based on city data that only 638 officers were available to work. After rioting and the burning of a police precinct after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, many officers left the department, and others filed disability claims, the newspaper reported.

Police department staffing shortages have been a problem nationwide.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Department of Justice Investigation of the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department (Page 5)
Minneapolis Police Department Staffing
StarTribune Minneapolis has about 200 fewer police officers available to work
The Marshall Project It’s Not Just a Police Problem, Americans Are Opting Out of Government Jobs
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.