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Investment in Public Safety <br />Public safety services isa core service that taxpayers expect from local government. <br />Over the past two years, the City Council has had several conversations regarding staffing for <br />public safety. These conversations identified some trends that are occurring which requires the <br />city to explore how to best respond to these changes. <br /> <br />Police Department <br />Earlier this year, the Roseville Police Department presented information regarding the need for <br />additional police officers. The need for increased staffing is due to several factors that have <br />occurred over the past few years. They include: <br /> Increasing number of calls for service <br /> Decreasing case clearance rate <br /> Increasing complexity of calls for service <br /> Increasing crime rate <br /> Increasing training demands <br /> Increasing population and development <br />All of these factors, coupled with the recent focus on proactive policing and community <br />engagement, has led to the overall diminishment of police department resources. <br /> <br />Over the past few years, the Police Department has taken several measures to keep up with the <br />demand for its services within its existing resource framework. These efforts have included: <br /> Utilizing an online reporting system to allow the public to report crimes without <br />the need to talk to a police officer <br /> Utilizing Community Service Officers more often to perform transport to the <br />Ramsey County jail, do traffic control, and handle administrative and routine tasks. <br /> Disbanding East Metro SWAT and joining the Ramsey County SWAT thus <br />shrinking the Police Department’s SWAT staffing commitment and the need for <br />capital resources <br /> Utilizing grants wherever possible to fund positions and initiatives <br /> Utilizing restricted forfeiture funds for special initiatives, training, and equipment <br /> Relying on the Roseville Police Foundation to fund special initiatives, such as the <br />human trafficking detail <br />While these efforts have helped stretch the resource dollars to continue providing services, it is <br />clear that additional resources need to be provided to effectively serve the community. <br />The Police Department has requested three police officers (two patrol and one Investigator) in <br />its 2020 budget. Chief Mathwig has also indicated that he we will be requesting an additional 3 <br />police officers in the 2021 budget. The two new patrol officers will be assigned on power <br />shifts from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. in order to provide additional resources during the department’s <br />busiest patrol period. <br />Page 12 of 19 <br /> <br />