Minneapolis mayor seeks 71% cut to Violence Interrupters, shift to in-house Safety Ambassadors after critical audit
Minneapolis Mayor Frey is seeking a 71% cut to Violence Interrupter funding and wants to redirect the money into an in-house Safety Ambassador program, city officials told the City Council.[1]
Neighborhood Safety Director Amanda Harrington told the council the proposal would shrink interrupter coverage from five hot spots to two and rely on roughly two dozen city Safety Ambassadors.[1] Harrington said the change is a policy choice to move away from harder-to-track nonprofit interrupter contracts toward a "more coordinated and deployable" in-house model.[1] Frey acknowledged "we have known the shortcomings of the whole framework for quite some time" and said, "When you are wrong, you admit it, and you try to do better." FOX 9
A city audit criticized oversight of the violence-prevention program and publicly named contractor Jamil Jackson of Change Equals Opportunity, accusing him of double-billing; Jackson is defending his bookkeeping.[2] Attorney Dean Thomson said the audit shows payments were made on the "flimsiest of invoices." FOX 9 He cited about $200,000 billed for 15 workers with no timecards or proof of payment and warned this is "how Feeding Our Future got off the rails." FOX 9 Council Members Jason Chavez and Jamal Osman pressed city leaders during the budget presentation, questioning why violence prevention would be cut while the Minneapolis Police Department would get more money.[1]
Harrington acknowledged that details of the scaled-back interrupter work for next year are still unsettled, including plans for smaller teams, smaller geographic areas and fewer community events as the city shifts its model.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- The audit names and puts on camera contractor Jamil Jackson of Change Equals Opportunity, accusing him of double-billing the city; Jackson is now publicly defending his bookkeeping.
- Neighborhood Safety Director Amanda Harrington told the City Council that Mayor Frey’s plan would cut Violence Interrupter funding by 71%, shrinking coverage from five hot spots to two.
- The mayor is proposing to shift funds away from harder‑to‑track nonprofit interrupter contracts toward a 'more coordinated and deployable' in‑house model using roughly two dozen city Safety Ambassadors, citing difficulty proving a 'causal connection to results' and tracking compliance.
- Frey acknowledged 'we have known the shortcomings of the whole framework for quite some time' and said, 'When you are wrong, you admit it, and you try to do better.'
- Attorney Dean Thomson, who previously sued the city over illegal contracting, said the audit proves 'nothing has changed,' that money was paid on the 'flimsiest of invoices' — including about $200,000 billed for 15 workers with no timecards or proof of payment — and warned this is 'how Feeding Our Future got off the rails.'
- Council Members Jason Chavez and Jamal Osman publicly challenged the cuts during a budget presentation, asking why violence prevention would be slashed while the Minneapolis Police Department would receive more money and whether poor city oversight, not the interrupter model, is to blame.
- Amanda Harrington acknowledged that details of the scaled‑back interrupter work for next year are still unsettled, including plans for smaller teams, smaller geographic areas and fewer community events.
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Neighborhood Safety Director Amanda Harrington told the City Council that Frey’s plan is to cut Violence Interrupter funding by 71%, shrinking coverage from five hot spots to two.
- Harrington said the change is a policy choice by the mayor to move away from harder-to-track nonprofit contracts toward a "more coordinated and deployable" in-house model using roughly two dozen city Safety Ambassadors.
- Council Members Jason Chavez and Jamal Osman publicly challenged the cuts during a budget presentation, questioning why violence prevention is being slashed while MPD gets more money and whether poor city oversight, not the model itself, is to blame.
- Harrington acknowledged details of the scaled-back interrupter work for next year are still unsettled, including smaller teams, smaller geographic areas, and fewer community events.
- Names and puts on camera one key contractor, Jamil Jackson of Change Equals Opportunity, accused in the audit of double-billing the city; he is now publicly defending his bookkeeping.
- Details Frey’s plan to cut the Violence Interrupter budget in half and redirect funds to hire about two dozen city safety ambassadors, explicitly tying the move to compliance tracking and difficulty proving "causal connection to results."
- Quotes Frey acknowledging "we have known the shortcomings of the whole framework for quite some time" and saying, "When you are wrong, you admit it, and you try to do better."
- Quotes attorney Dean Thomson, who previously sued the city over illegal contracting, saying the audit proves "nothing has changed" and that money was paid on the "flimsiest of invoices," including $200,000 billed for 15 workers with no timecards or proof of payment.
- Connects the violence-prevention oversight failures to the broader pattern seen in the Feeding Our Future scandal, with Thomson warning this is "how Feeding Our Future got off the rails" when no one scrutinized billing.