Improving Public Safety in Minnesota

A high priority for state lawmakers entering the 2019 legislative session was strengthening safety in Minnesota prisons following a fatal attack on a state corrections officer and other incidents. Newly appointed Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell talks with Capitol Report Moderator Shannon Loehrke about the agency's effort to hire more staff, the reestablishment of the Office of Ombudsmen for Corrections and the reality that state prisons are at full capacity. In referencing the actions of the 2019 legislature, Senator Warren Limmer, chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, said, “We have successfully funded our courts, prisons and law enforcement and taken additional steps to reform broken programs for victims who are often forgotten.” He joins Shannon to highlight the measures designed to improve the safety of all Minnesotans and to assist the victims of abuse. Also on the program, the Minnesota Legislature is gearing up for the Great Minnesota Get Together -- the State Fair. The Senate and House of Representatives will host booths in the Education Building, where fairgoers will have an opportunity to offer their opinion on pressing state issues.