Public Safety

We must offer good pay, suitable infrastructure, and quality equipment and training for our public safety departments, so police and fire can safely respond to emergencies.

Public safety is a core service of the city.

We need to maintain police and fire departments that offer competitive pay and benefits, so Duluth continues to attract the best police officers and firefighters available. Without this investment, our departments would become a stepping stone rather than a place for up-and-coming public servants to dedicate their life and service.

Fully staffed fire rigs save property and lives.

Duluth has a disturbing shortage of fully staffed fire rigs. Our fire stations must meet NFPA 1710 standards, which is a national safety standard for rig staffing. Firefighters can start putting out a fire, but they can’t enter the building until another rig arrives from across town. But each minute waiting for support means lives and property are at risk. This year alone, we’ve already lost irreplaceable lives due to fires.

In addition to working with understaffed rigs, these public servants' living conditions are disgraceful. In the Woodland station, they sleep in an old hay loft. All stations in Duluth lack the required lactation rooms. We can do better.

A fully staffed police force engages better with our community.

We need to provide the needed equipment and support that let police do their jobs safely, both for themselves and for citizens. After all, in community policing with a fully staffed force, there’s more opportunity for engagement with the people. And allowing officers to enforce our laws means those who habitually break those laws are connected with the specialty courts, which are a tool to help them get the services they need.

Thank you for your support!

– Lynn Marie