Sign in

Michelle S. Phelps

@michellesphelps.bsky.social
3.3K followers 1.2K following 486 posts

Professor at UMN, Sociologist, Mom | Books: Breaking the Pendulum on criminal justice & The Minneapolis Reckoning on the politics of policing | www.michellesphelps.com.

PostsRepliesMedia
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Remember friends, just because you (cough, AI) can run wildly complex regression model doesn't always mean you should. Sometimes a line graph will do, truly.
160
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Matt DeLong @mattdelong.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
University of Minnesota announces $225 million in budget cuts across all campuses
startribune.com
University of Minnesota announces $225 million in budget cuts across all campuses
It comes after the U approved a budget in June raising students’ tuition by 3.8%, the sixth consecutive year of increases for the U.
1611
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
an incredible moment, chef's kiss
020
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
But to your point, the "livability" frame does center *other* neighborhood residents/concerns not the person who is unhoused, in BH crisis, etc. And it is perhaps a tell re: the shift. But if they had just said "more non-viol calls" I woulda been in support.
040
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I have a graph from a working paper I can send that looks at that public 911 data and shows that after BCR launched, they took more beh health calls than MPD. But MPD still kept responding to same # of person in crisis. My guess is the share of calls coded as beh health by 911 calltakers went up.
120
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It's worth noting that BCR does still wind up responding to some of these calls (that get recorded as beh health) and also that in other cities mobile crisis programs draw a bigger share of all 911 calls b/c of these kinds of scope expansions. Open Q what new response will look like once dispatched.
130
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The presentation was super vague on this, but my guess is this "livability calls" refers to existing set of 911 problem codes like "unwanted person" that usually go to MPD but are low-level + could go to unarmed team (tableau.minneapolismn.gov/views/911Das...)
tableau.minneapolismn.gov
Tableau
141
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
CM Chavez just moved to push vote to Oct until more documents related to the RFP and proposed contract are submitted.
021
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Q&A session so far surprisingly chill, but CMs keep warning all these Qs are coming up again next year around potential extension of first contract. So not only will city have a lot of transition this year with move to new prog, but get to redo it all in 2027 potentially. :\
150
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The city's argument is that legal regulations around keeping records related to mental health care made it prohibitively difficult for the city to stand up an in-house program now since they're not a social service provider like the county.
020
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Yep, and will be a big Q how many current staff apply to the new jobs and are hired. It's a lot to ask people to jump companies, obviously, and unclear how big the program shifts will be in policy/practice.
010
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Some of them are run in-house thru city gov and that's another way Mpls could have gone.
120
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Q&A session opening up, hold your hats.
110
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New MCR program won't launch until Jan 2027, meaning crisis response in Mpls through the end of 2026 will likely be chaotic with staff loses and program flux.
130
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
They described the proposal review process *in general* and then requested the $5.9m for Community Bridges Inc contract. No details on why specifically this org was chosen, tho they noted this org works in other cities and had pos evals from system partners (presumably police/fire).
140
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Oh, another big shift -- MCR staff/vans will be housed in precinct-based firehouses not central BCR office. May shorten response time, but also meld crisis response more into working culture of Fire dept.
150
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Yup, ok, new program will be "mobile crisis response (MCR)" not "behavioral crisis response (BCR)" -- still waiting for discussion of why that shift prompted new vendor.
171
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Best case scenario is the "livability" flag expands the number of call/people who get an unarmed response. But it's also interesting that they're flagged with this framing of concern for other people in the n'hood not the person in crisis.
180
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Big transition in messaging here seems to be a shift from focus on "mental health" to "livability" issues. There was a really poignant exchange at city council I describe in my book about a BCR call w/ an unhoused person -- BCR gave them resources and left, council members wanted "concern" handled.
251
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The presentation is just starting so I am gonna go focus on that, but yes, very unclear why this is framed as a critique of CR. Their contract did not include follow-up services and they have pushed to do more of that. And yes, availability of those services much outside their scope.
minneapolismn.gov
City meeting video
Watch City Council, committees, and other City meetings on YouTube or cable TV.
021
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Coming up right this minute at Minneapolis City Council for the other weirdos who watch council tv: bsky.app/profile/tayl...
140
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is such depressing news. Canopy Roots' BCR was one of the few big innovations in public safety after 2020 that Minneapolis continued. I am skeptical that bringing in a new org from AZ is the right move.
35621
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Follow here for a live thread on new research and advocacy related to Operation Metro Surge in MN.
043
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Do you know a student thinking about a PhD in Soc? @umnsociology.bsky.social is running a how to apply workshop in October and encourage all to join! More info at: cla.umn.edu/sociology/gr...
Event flyer for event on Oct. 21, 1-2:30pm featuring professors Mike Esposito and Michelle Phelps. Learn more about the Ph.D program at the University of Minnesota.
045
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
💜 so glad to hear it, congrats!!
030
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Apparently I managed to come down with both a sinus infection & bronchitis in first (two) weeks of the semester. Yayyyy, really starting F26 with a bang (of snot).
011
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Delighted to be included in Racket's Flyover news this week, talking about how the people of Minneapolis and the broader Twin Cities metro area built up a muscle memory of resistance before the DHS winter occupation.
0114
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I feel like we’re really overdue for a thread of things that have changed for women in your lifetime. I’m interested in good and bad things. Any little life moment that would feel unbelievable if it happened in 2026.
7523444
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I keep getting these AI-written emails with banger subject lines like "Michelle, your Minneapolis Reckoning won two major awards and has 4 Amazon reviews two years later." 😂 Authors -- are there actually things to you can do to improve the book pages' keywords and such (w/o the scammy cash grab)?
010
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Watch this interview w/ ASA member Michelle Phelps for insights into how the Minneapolis 2020 protests grew out of years of organizing and also built networks that powered this year's resistance to ICE. @michellesphelps.bsky.social @perrybaconjr.bsky.social @newrepublic.com
bit.ly
How the 2020 Minneapolis Protests Set Up the City To Fight ICE
In the latest episode, Perry is joined by sociologist Michelle Phelps to trace how Minneapolis’s 2020 protests built the networks that powered this year’s resistance to ICE.
0127
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Link to Michelle Phelps' website and information about her excellent book published in 2024: The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America
michellesphelps.com
Policing in Minneapolis
The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America was published in May 2024 with Princeton University Press. The book traces the history of the MPD, from its founding ...
066
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
"Minneapolis was on Trump’s target list." There were indications the administration wanted to prompt a redux of the unrest of 2020, and to instigate state violence. "The helicopters circling reminded people of traumatic memories, but so did the community coming together in protest and solidarity."
But the other thing that’s important to tie to 2020, and that doesn’t have to do with Minneapolis in and of itself and its resistance capacity, is that we were on Trump’s target list, right? And there were lots of indications that the administration was directly trying to prompt a redux of the unrest of 2020, and to have it end with more state violence. And that was in people’s minds too, this idea that the president is attacking the city politically, that this is a politically motivated invasion of federal agents, and that there is an attempt of federal provocation to get people to riot, to instigate a more repressive state response.

And people remembered the memories of 2020, for both good and bad. The helicopters circling reminded people of traumatic memories, but so did the community coming together in protest and solidarity. And I think that really helped in terms of people resisting, but also resisting in ways that didn’t play into that hand, right? Resisting in ways that kept a public order, even in the midst of this pretty active resistance to a federal occupation.
1153
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Dan Hirschman @asociologist.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Science writ large is under assault. I hope folks in the social sciences keep this in mind as we sort through competing explanations of “what went wrong” - it’s got to be more than something specific to any one field, or even to the social sciences as a whole.
79432
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The New Republic has a great series, Right Now with @perrybaconjr.bsky.social, that's been revisiting summer 2020, "woke 1.0," and calls to shrink the police. Catch convos with @devawo.bsky.social, yrs trly, and @alexvitale.bsky.social on Substack: newrepublic.substack.com/s/right-now-...
0256
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
NEW: ICE data released under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that more than half of all ICE arrests are now people with no criminal record; no prior convictions or pending charges. In the first week of August, 55% of all ICE arrests were of people with no criminal record.
Chart showing monthly ICE arrests by criminal record, January 2025 through July 2026. The chart shows total ICE arrests rising steadily from January 2025, then peaking and falling from January 2026 to February 2026, stabilizing, then rising again in June and July to record levels. Meanwhile, the composition of ICE arrests becomes more and more weighted towards people with no criminal record, and in July 2026, the majority are people with no criminal record.
16766435
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
A Minnesota religious studies professor is facing six years in prison, with the DOJ saying he is part of an "antifa" conspiracy against ICE Erik Davis speaks out about his prosecution, largely based on a handful of his comments in Signal chats. He's not accused of any violence “It’s petty revenge"
theguardian.com
The professor facing prison in ‘antifa’ case: ‘They want to scare all who oppose ICE’
Erik Davis is accused by the government of a ‘conspiracy’ to obstruct ICE – experts say it’s part of a pattern to criminalize lawful organizing and ruin activists’ lives
16660350
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Congrats!!
110
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Sami Schalk @drsamischalk.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Police murdered a Black man in the street in Madison WI today. Shot point blank in the head while on the ground, tased, and surrounded by four cops. It looks like an execution. Multiple videos circulating online. Things are about to get very bad here.
20692883852
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
They made so few mistakes in Minnesota that two people were murdered, the ICE head was let go, and the agency has been sued numerous times for its crimes. Other than that? Flawless.
1803378749
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Jessica Bari @jessicabari.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
With funding cuts to mental health and addiction treatment services... I've been thinking a lot about the future of 988. All the data points to there's still a demand for it... www.kff.org/mental-healt...
kff.org
988 Enters Its Fourth Year as Demand Grows and the Mental Health and Substance Use Landscape Shifts | KFF
Data as of March 2026 show that demand for 988 continues to rise, with the volume of calls, texts, and chats 15% higher than a year earlier and nearly 50% higher than two years ago. States are also an...
021
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
I just renamed the document "Books to Buy -- Winter 2024" that I have been continuously editing (but not apparently buying fast enough) to "Books to Buy -- Running list" 😂 I am going to bury myself in books eventually
130
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Sarah Gollust @sarahgollust.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Did you write your comment yet on the OMB rules on federally funded science yet? No? Don’t worry, you can do it this weekend. Here are some resources that can help you get started.
10414326
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Dissent Magazine @dissentmag.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
While the phrase “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nationalist agenda.
dissentmagazine.org
The Uses and Abuses of the “Worst of the Worst” - Dissent Magazine
While the “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nationalist agenda.
0158
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 18/06/2026
NEW: The Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to Minnesota led to widespread human rights violations. In a new report, HRW documents how the US government’s “Operation Metro Surge” caused a human rights crisis in Minnesota. Learn more: bit.ly/44dMOht
04428
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
kvconner.bsky.social @kvconner.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
🎁Opinion by Will Bunch Gift Article Link in Replies/Comments The ‘Minneapolis 15’ ICE-protester indictments are meant to shut you up An outrageous federal conspiracy case against 15 anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota really seeks to silence all dissent. @willbunch.bsky.social
share.inquirer.com
The Minneapolis 15 ICE-protester indictments are meant to shut you up | Will Bunch
An outrageous federal conspiracy case against 15 anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota really seeks to silence all dissent.
01917
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Now in #paperback, The Minneapolis Reckoning by @michellesphelps.bsky.social is an urgent account of why it’s so difficult to reform the police. Read a free preview & save 30% with code PUP30: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb... #Sociology
The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America by Michelle S. Phelps
0135
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General @keithellison.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Honoring the man convicted of murdering George Floyd the week of the anniversary is frankly shocking. Chauvin was convicted by a jury of his peers and was affirmed through every appeal. It shows cruelty to the Floyd family and disrespect to our courts and all Minnesotans. No one is above the law.
58734
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis...
040
Reposted by Michelle S. Phelps
Wedge LIVE!™ @wedge.live · 26/05/2026
Check out @taylordahlin.com for coverage of the Rise and Remember Festival at George Floyd Square.
2605
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Six years. Reflecting again today on learning the right lessons from summer 2020.
091