Decriminalizing jaywalking crashes into police opposition
The Brief
A bill making its way through the Minnesota legislature would limit the potential citations for someone "jaywalking" in Minnesota.
The proposal says a person could only be issued a citation while crossing a roadway if they are stopped for an unrelated violation.
The Minnesota Police Chief's Association opposes the bill. They say it'll lead to more dangerous jaywalking.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A new bill would take most of the teeth out of jaywalking enforcement in Minnesota.
Jaundiced jaywalking
The proposed law would limit tickets to people who actually create traffic trouble when they walk across the street illegally. The authors say most Minnesotans are jaywalkers, and they know when they can safely cross the street.
But police are worried people will walk more dangerously without the threat of a citation.
"I mean I've jaywalked, most people have jaywalked," said Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart, (DFL-Minnetonka).
It would come as no surprise to the senator that our cameras had no trouble finding jaywalkers on Nicollet Mall and elsewhere in Minneapolis.
"This is a crime," said Bryce Maples.
Disability concern
During the winter especially, Maples says he can't keep his wheelchair off the street.
"I am committing a crime by trying to get around as a person with disability," he said.
He's supporting a bill from Johnson Stewart and Rep. Katie Jones to essentially decriminalize jaywalking.
Limited enforcement
Police could only cite jaywalkers who create a traffic hazard.
"I think it's important that we don't decriminalize jaywalking altogether," said Sen. Johnson Stewart, who says she's seen dangerous jaywalking near the University of Minnesota campus most frequently.
The current law is already scarcely enforced.
We searched court records and found only about 435 jaywalking tickets issued in the last five years.
More dangerous?
But police are worried decriminalizing it will bring more of the worst kind of collisions, the ones involving pedestrians.
"We think it will increase the number of people crossing in dangerous situations in uncontrolled portions of the roadway, instead of at the light where there's a crosswalk," said Jeff Potts, executive director of the Minnesota Police Chiefs Association.
The bill's authors say data tells a different story in Virginia, Nevada, and California, where they've already made similar changes.
"They have not seen any major spikes in safety incidences when it comes to jaywalking," said Rep. Katie Jones, (DFL-Minneapolis).
Timeline
The bills are moving forward in both the House and the Senate, but the House bill lost all of its Republican authors when the chief's association opposed it, so the chances of getting the bill passed are 50/50, but if it passes, it would take effect on Aug. 1 of this year.
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