Address biased policing, but keep livability laws.

It's official: lurking and spitting are no longer crimes in Minneapolis. On a 12-1 vote, the City Council repealed ordinances against the minor offenses due to concerns that they were used to unfairly target people of color — especially African-Americans.

Minneapolis can likely do without those two particular rules; they constituted a tiny percentage of offenses. City police report that there were only 89 lurking arrests in 2014 — out of a total of 44,000. And only one arrest was made for spitting last year. However, 59 percent of people charged with lurking between 2009 and 2014 have been black.

Still, these repeals shouldn't be the first steps toward eliminating additional livability laws. Council President Barb Johnson cast the only vote to retain the ordinances, fearing that possibility. Along with downtown business and police union leaders, Johnson believes that law enforcement authorities need livability laws to help promote public safety and civil behavior. "When we go down this path … what's the next step?'' Johnson asked. "Is it disorderly conduct? … . Is it curfew?"

Those laws should be left alone. As the Star Tribune Editorial Board argued when the repeals were proposed, addressing racially biased policing is important. But it is also vital for all citizens to feel secure as they walk city streets. Livability laws give officers legal tools to deal with aggressive, threatening and disorderly behavior that makes city streets seem unsafe.

Livability concerns are especially important to address downtown, so that thousands of workers can move about the city core during the day without worrying that something bad will happen. In the evenings, sports fans and arts patrons, diners and club customers should have pleasant experiences as they come and go from venues.

Downtown is becoming more residential, too, and taxpayers are investing millions in parks, stadiums and a new Nicollet Mall. The region's business, government and entertainment center attracts thousands of visitors through conventions, concerts and other major events. To get the most from those opportunities, confidence in public safety is key.

None of this, however, diminishes the need to combat biased policing. Studies and investigations of police departments around the nation have proved that racial profiling is real. Some of those reports confirm that cops can use lower-level offenses to target certain groups because enforcement of those rules is highly discretionary.

That's why the city should continue to monitor how such laws are enforced. But even when improper race-based arrest decisions are being made, it doesn't necessarily mean the laws have to go. Rather, officials must intervene to change enforcement practices. Sometimes that may mean firing cops who have patterns of improper racial profiling; other times, training can help officers focus on behavior, not race.

Striking the right balance and enforcing livability laws fairly is challenging. But the city must meet that challenge so that all will feel safe on the streets — and certain groups won't feel at risk of unfair targeting.