Questions remain on steps to close oversight gaps in Minneapolis violence prevention programs

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A city audit found Minneapolis’s Neighborhood Safety Department lacks oversight of its violence prevention program contracts and contractors, raising questions about how taxpayer money is tracked.

In the last six years, the city paid tens of millions of dollars for violence prevention programs, including violence interrupters. They are unarmed outreach workers who spend time on the street, hailed by supporters as an important alternative to policing.

But the program has faced years of scrutiny. In 2023, attorney Dean Thomsen sued the city of Minneapolis, arguing it improperly awarded contracts to groups working on violence prevention programs.

“We found that there was no accountability in how the city was spending its funds,” Thomsen said. “The city was paying hundreds of 1000s of dollars in invoices without any backup for those invoices.”