2021 Vol 15, Issue 4 July Gem Lake News

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Gem Lake News Page 3 of 6 White Bear Police Chief Gives Annual Report Additional topics covered in regular training sessions includes crisis intervention and mental illness crises, conflict management and mediation and recognizing and valuing community diversity and cultural differences to include implicit bias. The training must always consist of a combination of 16 of these continuing education credits within an officer’s three-year licensing cycle. Lastly, Swanson highlighted news of expanded facilities that will be built starting later this year, to include indoor parking for police vehicles. Trail Committee Seeks Volunteers (continued from page 1) Gem Lake’s open space is planted with several dozen types of trees, plants and wildflowers, which are meant to be largely self-sustaining over the years. However, some annual maintenance will be required. In addition, some decisions will have to be made about additional plantings that may be required each year to keep the area looking good. Volunteers with an interest in gardening are a real plus. If you would like to get involved, please contact Melissa Lawrence at Heritage Hall, or fill out the volunteer form that was mailed to you recently. The White Bear Lake Police Department responded to 642 calls for service by Gem Lake residents between June 1, 2020 and June 1, 2021. For comparison purposes, the department responded to 22,500 calls in total in their entire service area during the same period, the vast majority coming from White Bear Lake residents. These were just some of the facts reviewed by Police Chief Julie Swanson during an annual report before the Gem Lake City Council. The City of Gem Lake contracts with the White Bear Lake Police Department for law enforcement services. About 53 of these calls were considered medical in nature, 125 were traffic stops, 237 were proactive calls (routine patrolling), 10 were theft calls, 10 were other motor vehicle thefts, and the rest were other types of calls. Swanson noted that mental health related calls during the past years were up almost 30% for all calls received from their area of service. Theft of catalytic converters were also up dramatically, leading to some special efforts on the part of the department. To deal with the dramatic increase in mental health calls, the White Bear Police Department has entered into partnership with Roseville, St. Anthony, Moundsview and North St. Paul to share the services of a full-time social worker. This person is on call to be present for proactive visits as the need arises, and is there to provide another alternative when a mental health crisis happens. The White Bear Lake Police Department consists of 31 officers, with the newest one starting on June 15. This includes 3 investigators. The officers are broken up into 4 patrol teams, each led by a Sergeant. In addition, there are 6 Community Service Officers and 4 support staff. Highlights this Spring included special events such as a Distracted Driving Enforcement Event from March 9-30, several DWI enforcement efforts in April and several crosswalk enforcement events throughout the year, including one at Gem Lake Hills Golf Course. Swanson discussed the various types of training her officers get on a regular basis to help them perform the duties of the job in the most professional manner possible. This includes ‘Use of Force’ training to officers on a monthly basis and in a department wide setting twice a year.