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I n s i d e Arden Hills, MN . 55112-5734 ECR-WSS PRST STD U.S. Postage Paid Twin Cities, MN Permit #1962 Postal Customer From the MayorArden Hills provides a wide variety of public services. Law enforcement is one of those, and it represents a large percentage of our operating budget. It’s something we cannot be without, and we contract with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, 24 hours per day, seven days per week. I make it a point to spend a shift in a squad car at least once each year to learn how things are going in the City and how the service is being performed. Past years have been relatively quiet; this year was an exception. The calls: Almost all of the calls on the day I rode along were for a variety of relationship and behavioral issues. Perhaps this was brought on by high temperatures that fall evening, or that it was Friday night. The issues and the severity of the situations were all very different. The common ele- ment was that the officers were involved in various situations where they needed to perform three very different tasks: They needed to document what happened, sort out any legal issues, and use their skills in human relationship management. It was amazing to watch them perform all three duties simultaneously with the utmost skill and professionalism. As you might expect, these calls can take much longer than the average call, often involving considerable emotional discus- sion. I was impressed at how the officers quickly, calmly, and effortlessly switch their focus back to patrol after such an incident. The paperwork: There is an old saying, “The job isn’t finished until the paperwork is done.” For the officers that means a police report. This year more than in the past, I noticed the use of cell phones as part of the process. In one case, the person calling 911 had a video to share with the officer along with pictures of the person they needed to locate. In another call, a cell phone was used to document a person’s injuries. In yet another case, a cell phone was used to take pictures of legal papers to be included in the police report. It seems that cell phones have become a valuable tool for law enforcement docu- mentation. The squad car: For years squads have been equipped with laptops and real time graphical maps of each street, similar to today’s cell phone mapping applications. Today squad car dis- play maps have been linked with property records to show the owner. Having quick access to the property owner’s name can be helpful in a variety of situations. Forward-facing dash cameras are common in squad cars now. What is new is the 3” x 6” monitor that is mounted in the car from the roof. It allows the officer to quickly view what the dash camera is recording. Officers never know what the next call will bring; some may be routine, and others may be much more difficult and in some cases pose a safety concern for the officer. Regardless of the call, they are always serving us, keeping the peace, provid- ing support, and enforcing our laws. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office does an outstanding job for us. Next time they are in your neighborhood, give them a friendly wave. It is a quick way to show that you appreciate all that they do for us. Regards, David Grant Mayor The Truth-in-Taxation hearing will be Monday, December 11, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. State of the City Snow is coming! Get out your skates Surya Indian Foods opens Mayor Grant shared this photo to provide some perspective about the amount of technology in today’s Ramsey County squad car.