HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Packet 04-18-2000 SpecialAgenda
City of Plymouth
Special City Council Meeting
Tuesday, April 18, 2000
7:00 p.m.
Public Safety Training Room
1. Call to Order.
2. Review of police department - current trends and future plans.
3. Review of fire department including proposed Fire Station 4.
4. Discuss City Council Salaries.
5. Adjourn.
Agen da Number:
TO: Dwight D. Johnson, City Manager
FROM: Laurie Ahrens, Assistant City Managerr-.-
SUBJECT: Consider Adjustment to Council Salaries
DATE: March 20, 2000, for Council study session of April 18, 2000
1. ACTION REQUESTED: Consider whether to adjust Council salaries. If a change is
desired, direct staff to prepare an ordinance for consideration at a future regular meeting to
be effective January 1, 2001.
2. BACKGROUND: The salaries for mayor and councilmembers were last adjusted in 1989
and went into effect in 1991: Mayor - $8,600; Councilmember - $6,300
Attached is a survey conducted of comparable communities indicating the 2000 salary rates
for mayor and councilmembers. State law provides that any adjustment to city council
salaries be made effective following the next regular local election. Since the next local
election will be held in November 2000, the earliest effective date for revised salaries
would be January 1, 2001.
3. ALTERNATIVES: Several options for adjusting salaries are presented below to facilitate
discussion:
Mayor Council Bu'diet Im 'act
Option 1 -- No change. 8,600 6,300 0
Option 2 -- Adjust salaries by 3% in 8,858 6,489 1,392
2001 and 3% in 2002. 9,124 6,684 1,436
Option 3 -- Adjust salaries by 5 % in 9,030 6,615 2,320
2001 and 5 % in 2002. 9,482 6,946 2,438
Option 4 -- Adjust salaries to average of 10,990 7,910 12,050
all cities.
Option 5 -- Adjust salaries to median of 9,950 7,650 9,450
all cities.
Option 6 -- Adjust salaries to average of 11,486 8,321 15,012
4 comparable cities.
4. BUDGET IMPACT: Any adjustment in salaries would be included in future budgets.
The budget impacts are noted in the last column of the table above.
5. RECOMMENDATION: Direct staff on whether to prepare an ordinance amending
Council salaries effective January 1, 2001.
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL SALARY SURVEY
2000
02/25/00)
City/Population Mayor Annual Salary Council Annual Salary
Bloomington (87,370) 17,600 11,000
7 members - 4 wards
Brooklyn Park (62,499) 14,460 9,636
7 members - 3 wards
Burnsville (57,578) 9,984 7,020
5 members - at -large
Coon Rapids (61,260) 12,000 10,500 at large
7 members - 5 wards 9,000 ward
Eagan (59,021) 9,500 6,880
5 members - at -large
Eden Prairie (49,287) 7,200 6,000
5 members - at -large
Edina (47,113) 7,050 5,100
5 members - at -large
Maple Grove (44,996) 9,900 8,100
5 members - at -large
Minnetonka (52,176) 9,600 7,200
7 members - 4 wards
St. Louis Park (43,967) 12,600 8,400
includes salary for EDA)
7 members - 4 wards
Mean (average) salary of
all cities 10,990 7,910
Median salary of all cities 9,950 7,650
Mean salary of 4 cities
comparable population 11,486 8,321
Plymouth (61,620) 8,600 6,300
7 members - 4 wards
Plymouth
Police
Department
1999
Annual Report
Providing Public Safety Services to
the City of Plymouth.
The City of Plymouth
General Overview
Plymouth, Minnesota covers an area of 36 square miles. Its most recent
population as estimated by the Metropolitan Council is 60,585. Plymouth is
served by four highly regarded school districts. These districts are Wayzata -284,
Robbinsdale-281, Osseo -279, and Hopkins -270.
New development occurs each year within the City, both in the area of
commercial and residential. The City has developed its downtown area in recent
years, bringing additional several shopping centers and numerous businesses into
the area. The City partnered with LifeTime Fitness Center and the Wayzata
School District in a unique public-private fitness facility. LifeTime Fitness
operates the fitness and swimming center, while the City operates a two -sheet ice
center at the same location. The City also completed work on the Plymouth
Creek Center, an event center with various rooms available for use which opens
in the Spring of 2000, and a new Field House recreational bubble.
The City is also very proud of its park and trail system comprised of over 40
parks ranging from small neighborhood parks to large community playfields and
over 70 miles of recreational trails.
Visit us on the web at: www.ci.plymouth.mn.us
The following chart illustrates changes in the public
safety staffing numbers from .1992 through 1999.
n
PERSONNEL:
POLICE STAFF
Position 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
SWORN
Chief 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Captain 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lieutenant 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4
Sergeant 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 11 11
Investigator 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7
Patrol Officer 26 29 32 36 37 37 37 36 37
TOTAL SWORN 42 47 50 55 56 57 57 58 60
CIVILIAN
Support Svcs Supr 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
PSES 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Office Svcs Supr* 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
YSO 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
CSO Supervisor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
CSO 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 5 5
Sr Clerks 4.5 4.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 8
Clerk Receptionist" 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
TOTAL CIVILIAN 13.5 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 16.5
TOTALS 55.5 61 66 71 72 73 73 74 76.5
2
STs.
L
PATROL DIVISION
The Patrol Division provides police service to the City of
Plymouth, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is supervised by one
Patrol Lieutenant and 8 Patrol Sergeants. Thirty-two Officers, one
CSO Supervisor, five Community Service Officers, and one part-
time Law Enforcement Cadet work out of this Division.
In 1999, the Patrol Division responded to 47,154 total calls for
police service of which 31,211 resulted in written case files.
Thirteen percent (13%) of these cases were for criminal activity,
32% were for traffic enforcement activities and 55% were for non-
criminal or service activities. The range of calls that the Patrol
Division responds to includes: criminal activity, suspicious
activity, traffic accidents, medical emergencies, domestic disputes,
alarms, and miscellaneous public assistance requests. During
1997, the division also began changing over the fleet to black and
white marked squad cars. This transition should be completed in
2000.
The Community Service Division is responsible for the functions
of animal control, detention/release of prisoners, retention and
release of property, nuisance complaints, assisting with the
Canadian geese harvest and the police auction. This division is
staffed with one CSO Supervisor, five full-time Community
Service Officers (CSOs), and one part-time Law Enforcement
Cadet.
The Patrol Division oversees the following programs:
YIELD
i'
Traffic Enforcement Unit:
The Department has had a full-time, two officer Traffic
Enforcement Unit to work on all t' affic issues within the City and
in particular work on reducing vehicle speed in residential
communities and the enforcement of commercial vehicle
regulations since 1995. This program has a positive impact on the
community and assists in controlling residential speeding concerns.
The unit receives traffic concerns for over 300 locations each year.
The unit also has unit of a speed trailer which it drops at various
locations of concern. This unit demonstrates to drivers the posted
speed limit for a roadway and the speed the vehicle is traveling.
The Traffic Unit has proven to' be a tremendously successful
endeavor. Serious traffic -related accidents have been reduced,
traffic enforcement has increased and citizen awareness and
responsiveness to traffic issues i have been improved. One
additional traffic officer will be added to the unit in 2000.
Canine Program:
The police department currently has two K-9 units in service
giving us coverage with a canine unit seven days a week. The
canine units are assets to the patrol division for use in tracking and
apprehending criminal suspects, 1pcating controlled substances in
vehicle and property searches at commercial and residential
buildings, and assisting in mutual aid call outs to other
communities. During their service, both units have been
instrumental in numerous arrests within Plymouth and in
neighboring communities.
3
4fN)
Mountain Bike Patrol:
41
The Police Department began using two mountain bikes as
policing tools in 1997. Several officers received specialized
training in the overall concept of bike patrol and its uses within the
community. Mountain Bike Equipment enhances the officer's
ability to provide patrol, surveillance and enforcement activities
throughout the community, especially to the City's 70 miles of
park trails. Officers patrolling on mountain bikes target the issues
of underage drinking, illegal drug use and sales, vandalism, car
prowlers, and curfew violations.
DARE/GREAT Program.
Each year, the Plymouth Police Department graduates over 1,000
fifth grade students, from the Wayzata and Robbinsdale School
District, from the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)
Program. The department also participates in National DARE day
by coordinating a poster contest within all schools.
In addition to DARE, the Department facilitates the GREAT (Gang
Resistance Education And Training) Program in the Robbinsdale
School District. This program continues many of the concepts
begun with the youth in the DARE program and is taught at the
junior high level. One officer is assigned full-time and two officers
are assigned part-time to these education programs.
Kicking It With Cops: 12
Working originally with the YMCA at locations outside Plymouth;
the department also conducted our own Kicking It With Cops event
working with youths, age 14 to 16, from Regency Point and
Lakeview Commons Apartments. The events were held at the
Ridgedale YMCA.
4
Alcohol/Tobacco Compliance Checks:
Compliance checks for both alcohol and tobacco at licensed
establishments within the City continue to be a top priority toward
the overall city goal of no sale to minors. During 1999, two rounds
of checks for each were conducted',. Of the 94 checks performed at
liquor establishments, 36 sales were made to checkers used by the
police department giving a 38% failure rate. Of the 111 checks
performed at tobacco establishments, 26 sales were made to
checkers giving a 23% failure rate.'
The department continued working with establishments to provide
training for their employees and innovative programs to encourage
their employees to check identification. The department continued
sending letters to businesses that passed compliance checks
recognizing their efforts. Under 4 new program approved by the
City Council, businesses that pass all checks within a year will also
receive a certificate acknowledging their accomplishment.
Crime Free Multi -Housing Program, CFMH: - -
The CFMH program partners law' enforcement with managers of
rental property to keep neighborhoods safe, free of criminal activity
and drug dealing and to make a pleasant place for residents to live,
work, and raise their families. CFMH accomplishes this through
manager training and certification, resident education, and crime
prevention through environmental design strategies employed at
the properties. One officer staffs CFMH full-time.
THE
OPERATIONS/SUPPORT
DIVISION:
One Lieutenant, 2 Sergeants, 7 Detectives, and 4 Officers staff the
Operations/Support Division.
It is the division's responsibility to objectively investigate
alleged criminal violations by collecting evidence, arresting
suspects, and testifying in court. During 1999, the total number of
serious crimes reported in the City decreased slightly. The area
that experienced the biggest change was aggravated assaults, which
had a 45% decrease. This was somewhat offset by an increase in
the number of forgery and fraud cases reported.
The operations/support division oversees the following
programs:
PILLS
Northwest Metro Drug Task Force:
Plymouth is one of six cities that work cooperatively in the
Northwest Metro Drug Task Force. The other cities are Crystal,
Golden Valley, Hopkins, Robbinsdale, and St. Louis Park. The
Plymouth Police Department has one sergeant assigned to the task
force on a full-time basis, who works as the unit supervisor,
supervising the other members of the team and coordinating their
operations. The task force is responsible for investigating all
complaints involving illegal drugs.
M M M M M M
In 1999, the Task Force worked 147 cases, served 69 search
warrants, and made 92 arrests. They seized 8 vehicles, $143,118 in
cash, and 14 guns; along with 32,668 grams of cocaine, 118.88
grams of crack, 4,847.88 ounces of marijuana, and 1791.66 grams
of methamphetamine.
10iSchoolLiaisonOfficer:
School Liaison Officers investigate alleged criminal violations
committed by students. They also serve as a resource for students,
teachers, counselors, school administrators and parents. The
department has four officers assigned to the Liaison program, with
the addition of a third officer in the Wayzata School District. One
officer is assigned to Armstrong High School in the Robbinsdale
School District #281, one assigned to Wayzata High School and
two working a rotating schedule at the three Wayzata Middle
Schools in the Wayzata School District #284 and covering for any
absences in the High School from leave or training or other
absences. School Liaisons serve under the Investigations Division
during the school year. During the summer months the officers are
assigned to the regular patrol division, the traffic unit, or the
investigative division as needed.
The Emergency Response Unit (ERU):
Plymouth Police Department's mergency Response Unit is a
twelve -member team which was first formed in 1980. The team is
made up of officers working various assignments within the
department. ERU is called upon to assist with armed individuals,
barricaded persons, snipers, and in situations involving hostages.
The team is also used when executing high risk warrants. In
November of 1994, a Mutual Aid agreement was signed with
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Maple Grove and Champlin for their ERU teams. These cities'
teams worked and trained together, until this year when Champlin
dropped out of the agreement. Maple Grove and Plymouth will
continue working together.
In 1999, the team was used twice. Both call -outs involved assists
with the Northwest Drug Task on warrants outside the City limits
of Plymouth.
M RL
Plymouth Alternative Youth Services Program: 1W
The Plymouth Alternative Youth Services (PAYS) program is a
community service juvenile diversion program; whose purpose is
to provide useful, unpaid work within the community as a
voluntary diversion to juvenile offenders. Through successful
work performance, the juvenile is held accountable for their
delinquent behavior and the community receives "pay back" in the
form of services provided.
Juveniles are referred to the program through the Department
Investigative Division. In general, juveniles are considered for the
program if they are first or second time misdemeanor or status
offenders. Participation in the program is considered to be a
voluntary alternative to a court referral. Prior to participation, the
juvenile and their parent or guardian must sign a contract agreeing
to the number of work hours that are required to avoid referral for
criminal prosecution.
Work projects are arranged and supervised by members of the
Plymouth Police Reserves. The program director is Detective
Molly Lynch. In 1999, 18 juveniles worked a total of 80 hours of
community service through the program. Work projects included
cleaning city vehicles, landscaping, shoveling out fire hydrants,
preparing mailings, and working the Interfaith Outreach Project.
G
The GAP Program:
The GAP for Runaway Youth is a collaborative effort of six police
departments and five social service agencies/providers created to
work with youth who run away from home and their families. The
GAP was formed to develop a more comprehensive response than
previously existed to families whose child has run away from
home. This response consists of a police officer/social worker
team who respond to a runaway 'report to provide investigation,
assessment, crisis intervention, and assistance in obtaining the help
needed for that runaway and their family to resolve the problem(s)
that caused the youth to run away. This team monitors the progress
of the runaway and the family in resolving these problems and
provides additional assistance if necessary.
The GAP goals are to keep a youth from repeating their runaway
behavior and to keep youth out of the overburdened juvenile justice
system. Runaways in the GAP 'cities are referred to the court
system only if the earlier mentioned efforts in resolving their
problems do not work. The GAP'; is funded by several Minnesota
State grants as well as contributions by the 6 cities. The cities are
Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Dayton, Maple Grove, Osseo, and
Plymouth.
The GAP began operation in February, 1999, and works out of
office space provided within the Plymouth Police Department.
Reserve Officer Program:
The Plymouth Reserve Program is a civilian, volunteer
organization that works in partnership with the police department
to assist officers with traffic and crowd control, transportation of
prisoners, surveillance and patrol activities, special events, the
PAYS youth diversion program, and other educational programs.
Total volunteer hours worked during 1999 were 4,696. Many
individual reserves completed 30', to 40 hours a month at times,
continuing to assist the patrol division, primarily on weekend
nights.
Explorer Program:
The Plymouth Police Explorer Program is a youth program that
allows youth to explore and receive training in law enforcement.
Explorers meet once a week during the school year with police
advisors to study various topics such as the Miranda, search and
seizure, report writing, investigative skills, crime prevention,
traffic stops, use of force, etc. Individual leadership qualities and
team cooperation are emphasized. The group also participates in
State-wide annual competitions held at Breezy Point.
During 1999, the group implemented a ranking system among the
Explorers and now have a Captain, Lieutenant, and two Sergeants.
They assist the department advisors with arranging ride-alongs,
collecting dues, and handling roll calls. During the year, Explorers
worked traffic control at the Burnett Golf Tournament in Coon
Rapids and will be using the money they raised at this project to
purchase new uniforms in early 2000.
Emergency Management:
The Emergency Management Team addresses critical incident
response for emergencies within the City. This Team, a core of
community volunteers working with staff members, pre -plans
integrated responses for events ranging from the search for a
missing child to a large scale catastrophic disaster such as an
airplane crash.
7
Horse Patrol
During 1999, the City formed a volunteer horse patrol to assist the
police department and the public, in keeping the city parks and
trails safe. The community -oriented policing philosophy of the
department encourages personnel to interact with community
members to solve problems, promote crime prevention, and to
enhance citizen involvement in public safety activities. Residents
who own horses felt confident that they could contribute to
improve public safety and to help solve problems related to crime.
Police Officer Karen Forslund recognized the opportunity for this
group and researched horse patrol units in other cities and counties.
Ten residents were selected from 'a group of interested applicants.
All received training during February, March, and April and the
unit debuted at Music In Plymouth in July. The volunteers use
their own horses and tack. The :City provides safety helmets, a
two-way radio, first aid equipment, and uniforms. One city
business owner and former Reserve made available the use of a
four -horse trailer and truck for theteam's use.
M M M i M M MM M M M M M m m M M M M
THE PROFESSIONAL
STANDARDS DIVISION:
One Lieutenant and one Sergeant staff the Professional Standards
Division.
This Division is responsible for internal affairs, training, FTO
program, policies, medical fitness and wellness, hiring,
promotional processes, and firing range management.
The Professional Standards Division is responsible for the
following programs:
Internal Affairs: -
The division logs and tracks complaints against officers received
by the department. During 1999, the unit reviewed 44 complaints
of officer or department actions. This represents a sizable decline
from 1998's 69 complaints. The overwhelming majority of
complaints are officer rudeness or performance in nature. There
have been no complaints that put officers in the focus of any
criminal investigation based on the complaint.
eMmo
Training:
A total of 5,922 hours of training was provided to officers on the
department during 1999. Based on an authorized strength of 58
officers, this averages over 100 hours for each officer on the force.
Police officers have a required training component as they are
licensed by the State of Minnesota every three years. They are
required to have a certain amount of training to meet the
requirements for their license renewal and some of the training is
required to be in certain areas, such as firearms training. Officers
also have some training mandated by the State through legislative
action. A good example of this is the new legislation going into
affect with the 2000 license renewals requiring pursuit driving
training.
The department provides Officer Safety and Confrontational
Preconditioning training to all its officers. This training program is
conducted at the Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) in St.
Paul and is a tremendously successful venture for the department.
For a small fee, our department is able to gain the use of the LETC
and all of its amenities, such as FATS, gymnasium, Hogan's alley
for playing out scenarios, and a classroom as well as the student
lounge for meals. We are able to 'achedule all officers through the
one -day program.
A special outdoor shoot was conddcted during the year at which all
sworn officers were given an opportunity to utilize the outdoor
range facilities in Hutchinson, Minnesota.
The Minnesota Kali Group put on a ground fighting training day
for the department during 1999that was well received. One
sergeant also attended the eight-week Staff and Command school
and two sergeants attended the two-week Supervision school put
on by Northwest Traffic Institute. 'One sergeant also completed the
Drug Unit Commander school.
One of the major events pertaining to the training unit during the
year was the retirement of the sergeant who had been the training
coordinator for the past twelve years.
CE
t+rn0
o
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Hiring:
Professional Standards coordinates and conducts the required
examinations and questionnaires that are instrumental in validating
an entry level test for the position of police officer. Since 1993, 27
police officers have been hired by the police department.
The division works in conjunction with Human Resources to fill
any civilian positions with the department. The division also
conducts the background investigation on final candidates. During
1999, backgrounds were conducted for 9 police officer candidates
and 2 CSO candidates; from which 8 officers were hired as well as
the two CSOs.
Promotions: '¢
Professional Standards develops and manages all promotional and
assignment processes for the department. These include lieutenant,
sergeant, investigator, drug task force, school liaison, DARE, to
name a few.
During 1999, the department made four promotions to the position
of Sergeant. These promotions were made from an eligibility list
that was established from the 1997 process.
Three promotions to Investigator were made during the year. One
promotion was from the 1997 process and the remaining two were
made from a new process conducted during 1999.
A new position of CSO Supervisor was made from the existing
CSO ranks. Professional Standards handled this process as well.
E
THE ADMINISTRATION/
RECORDS DIVISION:
Civilian positions of one Technical Services Supervisor and one
Clerical Supervisor oversee this division of 7.6 non -sworn clerical
employees. This division is responsible for the records of the
department, computer operations, data privacy laws, data retention,
statistics, budget preparation, staff support to the Public Safety
Advisory Board, and work with the City Council.
This division also had responsibility for the following programs
during the year:
Annual Deer Bow Hunt: j
The hunt has been allowed in Plymouth annually each year since
1992 during the period between September 15th and December 31St
With landowner permission in the authorized northwest area of
Plymouth, potential hunters were; issued special permits to hunt
deer with bow and arrow on parcels of at least 10 acres in size to
assist with controlling the deer population within the City. Each
year in January or February an aerial survey of the deer population
in Plymouth is conducted and evaluated. Recommendations for a
hunt also take into consideration the opportunity for safe hunting
by looking at development and available sites and the City Council
must decide by August 1St each year whether to allow participation.
Canada Goose Program:
This division has responsibility for coordination of the program to
control the population of Canadian geese within the community.
We act as liaison with the community, the University of
Minnesota, the Community Service Officers, and any other
interested parties in this effort. Working with the Park
Superintendent, we record information on areas of concern,
including counts, and select the sites for the year. In some
instances businesses or homeowners groups have elected to pay the
costs to ensure their site is included in the program.
Budget Management:
During 1999, responsibility for coordination of the various Public
Safety budget was transferred to this division. Responsibilities are
to provide auditing and tracking services for the police
department's budget. They include assisting with purchasing,
coding bills, and working with staff to ensure they have current
information on the status of accounts, and working as a liaison on
financial issues with the Finance Department.
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PUBLIC SAFETY
EDUCATION:
Public Safety Education serves under both the police department
and the fire department. The Public Safety Education Specialist
position was established to bring technical expertise to the
Department in the areas of community organizing, volunteerism,
grant writing, and curriculum design and review. The purpose of
this position is to enhance and expand both the Police and Fire
Department's community-based safety programming and to
provide ongoing, open opportunity to all police personnel to work
with the community and participate in prevention training
opportunities.
NATIONAL_
WUMft
Education Programs
Neighborhood Watch
McGruff House
McGruff Truck
Minnesota Fax Alert Network
Crime Analysis Report fo,r Neighborhood Watch and
Plymouth's web site
Plymouth Apartment Manager iAssociation
National Night Out
Bike Rodeos
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M! M M M M M
Bike Helmet Reward Program
Minority Youth Cadet Program
Plymouth Crime and Fire Prevention Fund
Operation Identification
Speaker's Bureau
Lester the Smoke Detector and COnnie the Carbon Monoxide
Detector Program
Neighborhood Fire Prevention Programs
Red Cross Smoke Buster's Program
Customer Satisfaction Survey
Grant Programs Administered:
Cadet Apprenticeship Program, three-year initiative, $42,417
Cops Ahead Grant, three year initiative, $75,000
Badges to Business, one year initiative $7,200
Fire Prevention Grant, one year initiative $1,500
Auto Theft Prevention Grant,
Plymouth Crime and Fire Prevention Fund:
Fundraising Initiatives: 1994-1997, @$40,000
Major Project 1994: First Police Canine Unit
Major Project 1995: Fire Department's Water Rescue Craft
Major Project 1996: Second Police Canine Unit, Fire
Survivor's Handbook
Major Project 1997: Police Surveillance Equipment, Water
Rescue Equipment, Lester the Smoke Detector Campaign
Major Project 1998:Mountain bikes purchased for bike patrol
Their current project is to purchase thermal imaging equipment
which will allow the firefighters to see victims inside smoky
environments.
11
COMMITTEES OF THE
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
All police employees are provided the opportunity to have input
into the direction of the Department by serving on various
committees. The following is the list of currently active
committees and their missions.
Community Policinz Committee:', - Mission: To review, develop
and implement community policing initiatives within the City of
Plymouth.
Report Committee: - Mission: Tc review and evaluate all reports,
both written and computer, and make recommendations for use and
implementation.
Recognition Committee:- Mission. To review current practices for
department personnel and develop process for recognition,
including department personneli and citizens, and to review
recommended awards.
Currently the department is putting together a Budget Committee
whose mission will be to receive, 'evaluate, and prioritize requests,
especially equipment and capital requests, for upcoming budgets.
IIID I mm MMM M M IIIA IIIA M! IIID M IIIA I
STATISTICS:
The police department tracks statistics under the guidelines created
by the State of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and
the Federal Bureau of Investigations. This groups activity into six
major categories; the first two being criminal in nature, the next
being traffic related offenses, and the last three being local
violations or service related calls.
We have included a definition section to define the various
categories and individual offenses or calls. The statistical page
compares the calls in the same breakdowns for the years 1996 and
1997.
DEFINITIONS:
The crime report is divided into four categories.
Crime Index/Part I Crimes: The crimes of murder and non -
negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated
assault, burglary, larceny -theft, motor vehicle theft, and
arson comprise the Crime Index. These crimes were
selected by the FBI as national crime indicators because
they are generally crimes in all 50 states and they occur
frequently enough to provide an adequate basis for
comparison over time. The Crime Index is sometimes
erroneously referred to as "Serious Crime." This is
misleading because the majority (60 percent) of crimes in
the index are in the category of larceny -theft, including petty
shoplifting and other minor theft. The terms Crime Index
and Part I Crimes are often used interchangeably. Part I
crimes are the eight index crimes plus manslaughter by
negligence, a rarely used category. The Part I crimes of
violence against persons are murder, rape, aggravated
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assault, and robbery. The Parti I crimes against property are
burglary, larceny -theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
Crime Rate: The number of offenses per 100,000 people
in a geographical area. Crime; rates are included for Part I
crimes in Hennepin County b municipality for the year in
question. The population Ostimates used are those
generated by the Metropolitan Oouncil for the same year.
Murder .and Non -Negligent Manslaughter
Defined Murder j and non -negligent
manslaughter are defined in the Uniform Crime
Reporting Program as the willful (non -
negligent) killing of one human being by
another. The classification of this offense is
based solely on police investigation, not on the
determination of a court, medical examiner,
coroner, jury, or other, judicial body. Not
included in the count for this offense are
deaths caused by negligence, suicide, or
accident; justifiable homicides; and attempts to
murder or assaults to murder. The latter are
counted as aggravated assaults.
Forcible and Attempted Rape Defined
Forcible rape is the carnal knowledge of a
female forcibly and against her will. Assaults
or attempts to commit rape by force or threat of
force are included. Statutory rape (without
force) and other sex offenses are excluded.
Other sex offenses, including statutory rape,
are considered Part II crimes.
Robbery Defined Robbery is taking or
attempting to take anything of value from the
care, custody, or conIirol of a person or
persons by force or threat of force or violence
and/or by putting the victim in fear.
Aggravated Assault Defined Aggravated
assault is an unlawful attack by one person
upon another for the purpose of inflicting
severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type
of assault is usually accompanied by the use of
a weapon or by means likely to produce death
or great bodily harm. Attempts are included,
since it is not necessary that an injury result
when a weapon is used that could and
probably would result in serious personal injury
if the crime were successfully completed.
Other assaults are considered Part II crimes.
Burglary Defined The Uniform Crime
Reporting Program defines burglary as the
unlawful entry of structure to commit a felony
or theft. The use of force to gain entry is not
required to classify an offense as burglary.
Burglary in this program is categorized into
three sub -classifications: forcible entry,
unlawful entry where no force is used, and
attempted forcible entry.
Larceny -Theft Defined Larceny -theft is the
unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding
away of property from the possession or
constructive possession of another. It includes
crimes such as shoplifting, pocket -picking,
purse -snatching, thefts from motor vehicles,
thefts of motor vehicle parts and accessories,
bicycle thefts, etcetera, in which no use of
force, violence, or fraud occurs. In the Uniform
Crime Reporting Program, this crime category
does not include embezzlement, "con" games,
forgery, and worthless checks, which are all
13
Part II crimes. Motor vehicle theft is also
excluded inasmuch as it is a separate Part I
offense.
Motor Vehicle Theft Defined Motor vehicle
theft, as defined for the Uniform Crime
Reporting Program, is the theft or attempted
theft of a motor vehiclMotor vehicles are
subclassified as autos, rucks and buses, and
other vehicles. This definition excludes the
taking of a motor vehicle; for temporary use by
those persons having lawful access.
Arson Defined Arson is defined by the
Uniform Crime Reporting Program as any
willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn,
with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling
house, public building,rY:otor vehicle or aircraft,
personal property of another, et cetera. Only
fires determined through investigation to have
been willfully or maliciously set are classified
as arsons. Fires of suspicious or unknown
origin are excluded. Arson was added to the
Crime Index in 1980.
Part 11 Crimes: Most criminal offenses other than Part I
crimes fall into this category in lithe Uniform Crime Reporting
UCR) System. Part II crimes are not necessarily less
serious than Part I crimes. For example, the Part II crimes
of simple assault, fraud, forgery, weapons, or narcotics may
be more serious and carry more severe penalties than
larceny -theft. Not included Ms drunkenness, which is a
national UCR Part II offense, but which was decriminalized
in Minnesota in the 1970's.
Other (Simple) Assault Defined Assaults
and attempted assaults where no weapon was
used and that did not result in serious or
aggravated injury to the victim.
Forgery and Counterfeiting Defined
Making, altering, uttering, or possessing, with
intent to defraud, anything false which is made
to appear true. Attempts are not included.
Fraud Defined Fraudulent conversion and
obtaining money or property by false
pretenses. Included are larceny by bailee and
bad checks, not forgeries and counterfeiting.
Embezzlement Defined Misappropriation or
misapplication of money or property entrusted
to one's care, custody, or control.
Stolen Property Defined Buying, receiving,
and possessing stolen property, including
attempts.
Vandalism Defined Willful or malicious
destruction, injury, disfigurement, or
defacement of any public or private property,
real or personal, without consent of the owner
or persons having custody or control.
Weapons Defined All violations of
regulations or statutes controlling the carrying,
using, possessing, furnishing, and
manufacturing of deadly weapons or silencers,
attempts included.
Prostitution Defined Sex offenses of a
commercialized nature, such as prostitution,
keeping a bawdy house, procuring or
14
transporting people for immoral purposes,
attempts included.
Other Sex Offenses Defined Statutory rape
and offenses against chastity, common
decency, morals, etcetera.
Narcotics Defined State and local offenses
relating to narcotic drugs, such as unlawful
possession, sale, use, growing, and
manufacturing of narcotic drugs.
Gambling Defined Promoting, permitting, or
engaging in illegal gambling.
Offenses Against Family/Children Defined
Nonsupport, neglect, desertion, or abuse of
family and children.
Driving Under Influence Defined Driving or
operating any vehicle or' common carrier while
drunk or under the influence of liquor or
narcotics (also known as Driving While
Intoxicated - DWI).
Liquor Laws Defined ! State or local liquor
law violations, except "drunkenness," DUI/DWI,
and federal violations.
Disorderly Conduct Defined Breach of the
peace.
All Other Offenses All violations of state or
local laws, except Partl I Crimes, those listed
previously, and traffic offenses.
M M M M M i M = IIIIIIIIIIIIIN M
Traffic Offenses: These are all traffic related offenses.
They are broken into three subcategories of Hazardous
Moving Violations, Non -hazardous Moving Violations, and
Non-moving Violations.
Hazardous Moving Violations These
violations include speeding, careless/reckless
driving, disobey signs and signals, stop sign
violations, improper passing, improper turning,
improper lane usage, wrong way on one way,
failure to yield, following too closely, improper
or no signal, defective or improper equipment,
school bus stop arm violation, allowing an
unlicensed driver to drive, and any other
moving violation that could cause a hazard to
other drivers.
Non -hazardous Moving Violations These
violations include driving with a suspended,
canceled or revoked license, no driver's
license, improper registration, overwidth or
overweight vehicles, blocking and obstructing
roadways, leaky loads, seat belt and child
restraint violations, no insurance, and other
moving violations that would not cause a
hazard to other drivers.
Non-moving Violations These are primary
parking type violations such as fire lane, fire
hydrant, snow removal, handicapped parking,
junk or abandoned vehicle, and any other
parking violation.
Part 111 Incidents: These are non -criminal reports of
missing or found persons and property. This category would
not include missing juveniles or missing persons or property
15
where a crime has taken place, such as kidnapping or
burglary.
Part IV Incidents: This is a category of accidents, injury, or
death which do not involve criminal activity. It includes such
things as fatal motor vehicle accidents, personal injury
accidents, property damage accidents, other accidents such
as industrial or snowmobile, fires (where police are called to
the scene for crowd control, traffic direction or other activity),
suicides, attempted suicides, accidental deaths (such as
drownings), and natural death balls.
Part V Incidents: These are incidents for police service.
Major categories involved ares domestics (arguments only
with no evidence of assault), medical emergencies (mental
and physical well-being checks'',), lockouts from vehicles and
residences, any suspicious of information which does not
result in the report of a crime, false alarms, public nuisance
calls (dumping, noise, et cetera), animal calls, warrant
service, traffic details, permits issued (firearm, peddler, et
cetera), and any other non-clas$ified type call.
STATISTICAL INFORMATION - End of Year
Part I (Serious Crime)
1998
1999
Part 11 (Less Serious Crime
criminal
homicide
forcible
rape
agg
robbery assault
larceny
burglary /theft auto theft arson TOTALS ch
0 17 14 48 267 1303 90 22 1761
4 40 109
0 14 18 26 332 1191 80 7 1668 5%
1998
1999
other
assaults
forgery/
countrft
stolen
fraud embezz property
vandal/
prop dmg weapons
other sex
prost offenses narcotics
298 54 133 0 18 658 24 4 40 109
287 69 144 0 12 634 19 1 34 131
1998
1999
Traffic (codes 9000 through 9299
offs agnst
gambling fam/child
disordly other
DUI liquor laws conduct vagrancy offenses TOTAL ch
0 61 251 147 251 1 476 2525
1% 0 59 229 135 257 1 497 2509
other
speed 9000's
TOTAL
haz chg
2665 1785 4450
1% 2572 1903 4475
1998
lost found
property property TOTAL
9100's
1999
2272
2% 2318
165 249 473
NON -CRIMINAL
crimes
Part III (codes 9300 through 9399
1998
1999
Part IV (codes 9400 through 9799
non -move
lost found
property property TOTAL
9100's ch
2272
2% 2318
missing found
person person
lost found
property property TOTAL chg
54 3 94 263 414
1558 853
59 0 165 249 473 14%
1998
1999
Part V (codes 9800 through 9999
DAR/DAS/
DAC
other TOTAL
9200's non-haz ch
552 1558 853
total
14%
total non -
crimes total traffic criminal
4286 10453 16809
i 4177 10010 17024
3% 4% 1%
0 29
total
8%
359 531
incidents
0%
31548
31211
1%
DAR/DAS/
DAC
No I
Imp Regist Insurance
other TOTAL
9200's non-haz ch
552 1558 853 768 3731
14% 556 1385 493 783 3217
fatal pers inj
accid accid
prop dmg
accident
other
accidents fire suicide
attmpt
suicide
accidntl natural
death death TOTAL ch
1 144 949 173 312 7 28 1 32 1647
322 577
2 149 973 269 336 1 26 0 29 1785 8%
1998
1999
misc medical
public domestic emerg lockouts susp/ info
public false animal
nuisance alarms complaint
other
9800's
warrant
Svc
traffic
details
permits other
issued 9900's TOTAL ch
1522 383 1424 128 1998 1056 2793 1290 1805 360 1090 322 577 14748
1339 386 1394 100 2045 1347 2771 1527 1480 436 1051 359 531 14766 0%
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M! M M M M M
FIRE
DEPARTMENT:
The Plymouth Village Fire Department was chartered in 1959 to
provide fire protection service to the Village's 9,576 residents. In
1960, a fire station was built and the first fire truck was purchased.
The current Plymouth Fire Department is a modern, full-service,
paid -on-call agency that provides for the fire protection needs of
our community's 62,000 residents and thriving business
community. Sixty-five firefighters operating out of three fire
stations responded to more than 1,200 calls for service during
1999. The average annual time commitment for each firefighter is
455 hours per year.
DUTY CREW
In 1998, began a pilot program to provide a Duty Crew during
weekdays to assist with the problems of day -time response. The
program was so successful, that the hours of the Duty Crew were
expanded and are still in operation today.
The Duty Crew Program enables the department to provide a
predictable and timely level of service to the community which has
not previously been possible.
The program in place in Plymouth is a variation of the
organizational style of a paid -on-call department. Firefighters
schedule themselves to work blocks of time during the City's peak
times for calls for fire services. The program is operational
Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., working
four three-hour shifts during that time.
17
The Duty Crew staff one of the fire stations and respond to fire
calls, attend training sessions, perform maintenance activities, and
present public education programs. Since the advent of the Duty
Crew Program, public education fire prevention programming
hours have increased by 32%.
The advantages to the community of this program are that it
ensures predictable staffing levels for fire call response, and
reduces response time. The advantages for firefighters are that it
provides them with a predictable work schedule, reduces their
committed time by consolidating call response, training,
maintenance, and public education; obligations. Average in-service
times during 1999 were reduced from 7:21 minutes for non -duty
crew calls to 1:39 for duty crew calls showing an overall reduction
of 5:42 in response time.
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
The Fire Department began looking at the complex issues involved
with recruitment and retention of employees with their September,
1996 Department Profile report. In June of 1997, the Service
Delivery Recommendations report made five recommendations
including traffic preemption equipment, use of full-time Fire
Inspectors, a duty crew program, a second full-time staff position,
and an increase in the number of paid -on-call staff.
As a result of this recommendation, the City began a program of
equipping both fire and police vehicles with preemption equipment
and a long-range plan of equipping traffic signal lights throughout
the City. The equipment put into Iuse has reduced response times
and contributed to firefighter, police officer, and public safety.
In the staffing recommendations, the City's two Fire Inspectors
have provided valuable daytime assistance at the scenes of
confirmed fires and rescue situations. The duty crew program was
begun and expanded as highlighted previously. In the fall of 1998,
the Department added a second full-time position, the
Administrative Fire Officer, responsible for the Duty Crew
Program, department training, and additional administrative duties.
Also since that time the Department hired twenty-six new
firefighters. Yet the Department has had difficulty keeping pace
with attrition.
Staffing is the single most significant issue affecting the
Department's ability to provide services now and into the future.
This is a nationwide problem. Paid -on-call departments like
Plymouth's, because of the unpredictable daytime staffing, are
frequently very challenged in their efforts to comply with OSHA
mandates and NFPA recommendations for fire response.
SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE PLYMOUTH FIRE
DEPARTMENT
Fire Suppression: Fire suppression is the process of
extinguishing burning materials. The demand for fire
suppression is usually required in critical incidents involving
vehicles, commercial or residential properties, or undeveloped
areas. Plymouth firefighters assist with fire suppression
activities outside of the City borders when they are requested to
provide mutual aid to neighboring communities.
Severe Weather Response: During periods of severe weather,
the Fire Department may alter its normal response procedures
to provide the best service to the citizens of Plymouth. During
periods of increased calls for public safety service, firefighters
may be assigned to staff special duty crews to provide
additional coverage to the community.
Hazardous Materials Response: The Hazardous Materials
Response Team is a Highly skilled unit of technicians and
N'?
specialists who are trained to design and execute a critical
incident response to the release or potential release of
hazardous solid or liquid materials or toxic gasses into the
environment. Since 1992, the Cities of Plymouth and Maple
Grove have participated in i a joint Hazardous Materials
Response Team. In doing so, the fire department share the cost
of training and specialized equipment for hazardous response
and, in turn, provide mutual aid to each other.
Radiological Monitoring: Firefighters with radiological
expertise assist with the monitoring of the nuclear power plants
in Monticello and Red Wing, Minnesota. This specialized unit
is also responsible for preparedness training and for developing
and executing fire response in radiological critical incidents.
The Plymouth Fire Department receives a grant from the State
of Minnesota to underwrite this initiative.
Technical Rescue: Technical rescue involves skills and
procedures employed by firefighters to safely remove accident
victims from various forms of; entanglement or from confined
spaces or elevated structures. Technical rescue includes the
rescue of victims of motor vehicle accidents.
Alarm Response: The Plymouth Fire Department responds to
fire alarms at commercial and residential properties. Upon
arrival, firefighters conduct a technical investigation to
determine the cause of the alarm. The cause may be an actual
fire or may be the result of a system malfunction.
Water and Ice Rescue: The Water and Ice Rescue Unit
consists of specially trained firefighters who execute the Fire
Department's response to water and/or ice -related critical
incidents utilizing specialized rescue gear and watercraft.
I
Disaster Response and Preparedness Planning: Plymouth
Fire administrators, working with the State of Minnesota
Division of Emergency Management and the Police
Department's Emergency Management Unit, pre -plan the Fire
Department's response to incidents and natural disasters that
potential may occur in the City of Plymouth. In addition, the
Plymouth Fire Department will assist public and private
organizations with the development and review of their
individual preparedness plans.
CO Detector Response: The Plymouth Fire Department
responds to requests for service from the general public and the
Police Department for incidents involving carbon monoxide.
Using various means of atmospheric monitoring, firefighters
determine the level of CO concentration at the site. Self-
contained Breathing Apparatus, positive pressure ventilation
and atmospheric monitoring are employed to safely mitigate the
CO incident.
Facility Pre -Planning: Upon the request of a Plymouth
business or residential facility, Fire Department personnel will
assist the organization with pre -planning their fire evacuation
response. The Department also assists with the review of fire
drills hosted by local businesses.
Fire Prevention Education: The Plymouth Fire Department
presents fire prevention education programs as requested by the
citizenry and business community. The purpose of this
education is to raise the awareness level within the community
on how to prevent, detect and react properly to fire
emergencies. The actual presentation of education programs is
done primarily by firefighters and officers, and is coordinated
and designed by the Public Safety Education Specialist.
19
The Fire Prevention Education T',eam provides over 1,000 hours
toward community-based educational programming each year.
w
rofessional standards division
erationsprof stndrds
cant 1 Lieutenant 1
i ervisor
I
Trainin Ser eant 1
Investigator 1
O's
5
Plymouth Police
2000 Personnel Breakdown
Chief of Police/
Director of PS
Drug Task Force
Serqeant (1)
I Lieutenant (1) I
division
I school & community I
nt
School liaisons (4)
DARE/GREAT (1)
Crime -Free
Multi -Housing (1)
Pub Safety Education
Specialist (0.5)
Administration
Support Svcs Su v
1)
Office Svcs Su Admn Sr Clerksv
1) (1.6)
Sr Clerks
6
Chief of Police/
Director of PS
I professional standards division I I administrative services division I
special operations professional
standards
internal affairs
services
investigationsERU
reserves training emerg mgmnt
explorers policies/proced youth services
vehicles intern school liaisons
building awards/recog DARE/GREAT
chaplain corps fit for duty CFMH
horse patrol hiring drug task force
special events promotion proc attorney liaison
contract OT appointment proc forfeitures
CSOs firing range special research
jail train whistle Home Free
property room license/compliance PS education
PUPS board citizens academy crime prevention
cadet prog grant writing
noise ord enforce
special animal proj
dangerous
goose control
deer hunt
administration
clerical services
records mgmnt
data practices
computer issues
budget monitor
cc agenda coord
payroll coord
PSAB coord
master sch book
STATISTICAL INFORMATION - End of Year
Part I (Serious Crime)
criminal forcible
homicide rape
agg larceny
robbery assault burglary /theft auto theft arson TOTALS chg
0 17 14 48 267 1303 90 22 1761
prost
0 14 18 26 332 1191 80 7 1668 5%
Part I/ (Less Serious Crime
1998
1999
1998
1999
other
assaults
forgery/
countrft fraud embezz
stolen
property
vandal/
prop dmg weapons prost
other sex
offenses narcotics
298 54 133 0 18 658 24 4 40 109
287 69 144 0 12 634 19 1 34 131
offs agnst
gambling fam/child
disordly
DUI liquor laws conduct
other
vagrancy offenses TOTAL ch
0 61 251 147 251 1 476 2525
263
0 59 229 135 257 1 497 2509 1%
Traffic (codes 9000 through 92 9)
1998
1999
other TOTAL
speed 9000's haz chg
2665 1785 4450
1% 2572 1903 4475
NON -CRIMINAL
Part /11 (codes 9300 through 9399
1998
1999
non -move
found
person
9100's chg
2272
2% 2318
missing
person
found
person
lost
property
found
property TOTAL chg
54 3 94 263 414
14% 59 0 165 249 473
Part IV (codes 9400 through 9799)
1998
1999
DAR/DAS/
DAC
No
Imp Regist Insurance
other TOTAL
9200's non-haz ch
552 1558 853 768 3731
chg
556 1385 493 783 3217 14%
fatal
accid
pers inj
accid
prop dmg
accident
other
accidents fire
attmpt
suicide suicide
accidntl
death
natural
death TOTAL chg
1 144 949 173 312 7 28 1 32 1647
1347
2 149 973 269 336 1 26 0 29 1785 8%
Part V (codes 9800 through 9999)
1998
1999
misc medical
public domestic emerg lockouts susp/ info
public
nuisance
false
alarms
animal other warrant
complaint 9800's Svc
traffic
details
permits other
issued 9900's TOTAL chg
1522 383 1424 128 1998 1056 2793 1290 1805 360 1090 322 577 14748
1339 386 1394 100 2045 1347 2771 1527 1480 436 1051 359 531 14766 0%
PART I CRIMES AND POPULATION RANKINGS
HENNEPIN COUNTY, 1998
Percent of Population Part I Percent of Crime Crime
Bloomington
Population Population Rank Offenses Part I Total Rate Rate Rank
87,370 8.1% 2 5,171 8.0% 5,919 3BrooklynCenter28,515 2.6% 11 2,388 3.7% 8,375 2BrooklynPark62,499 5.8% 3 3,155 4.9% 5,048 4Champlin20,307 1.9% 15 430 7% 2,117 26Corcoran5,698 5% 23 87 1% 1,527 31Crystal23,651 2.2% 12 1,043 1.6% 4,410 10Dayton5,122 5% 26 80 1% 1,579 30Deephaven4,193 4% 28 55 1% 1,312 33EdenPrairie49,287 4.6% 6 1,467 2.3% 2,976 20Edina47,113 4.4% 7 1,475 2.3% 3,131 17GoldenValley20,986 1.9% 14 891 1.4% 4,246 11Hopkins16,559 1.5% 16 647 1.0% 3,907 12LongLake1,930 2% 31 86 1% 4,456 9MapleGrove46,181 4.3% 8 1,412 2.2% 3,058 18Medina4,326 4% 27 106 2% 2,450 25Minneapolis362,090 33.6% 1 35,042 53.9% 9,678 1Minnetonka52,176 4.8% 5 1,568 2.4% 3,005 19MinnetonkaBeach5741% 33 10 0% 1,742 28Minnetrista-St, Boni 5,585 5% 24 143 2% 2,560 24Mound9,742 9% 20 340 5% 3,490 16NewHope21,658 2.0% 13 620 1.0% 2,863 21Orono7,671 1.1% 18 183 3% 1,524 32Osseo2,625 2% 30 54 1% 2,057 27Plymouth61,620 5.7% 4 1,731 2.7% 2,809 22Richfield34,470 3.2% 10 1,698 2.6% 4,926 5Robbinsdale14,179 1.3% 17 668 1.0% 4,711 7St. Anthony 8,425 8% 21 319 5% 3,786 14St. Louis Park 43,967 4.1% 9 1,715 2.6% 3,901 13SouthLakeMinnetonka11,481 1.1% 19 303 5% 2,639 23SpringPark1,831 2% 32 85 1% 4,642 8Wayzata4,099 4% 29 196 3% 4,782 6WestHennepin5,371 5% 25 88 1% 1,638 29HennepinCountySheriff7,189 7% 22 260 4% 3,617 15UofM349691.5% g4MetropolitanAirport35480
Hennepin Parks 36 3
7% 35
Total 1,078,490 100.0% 64,968
0%
100.0% 1 6,024 1
36
HENNEPIN COUNTY CRIME REPORT HIGHLIGHTS 1998
1998 CRIME REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
The Crime Report is intended to provide a detailed and long-term perspective on crime trends
based on data reported by Hennepin County's police jurisdictions. It consists of a main report
with graphics and narrative, and an appendix, with tabular data. It will soon be available on
the internet at: http://www.co.hennepin.mn.us/opd/reports/categories.htm, or it can be
ordered from the Office of Planning &
Development. The highlights of the 1998
Part I Crime Rate per 100,000, 1975-98
report are summarized below. 8.000
7.600
Crime Rate Near 25 -Year Low
Part I" crime is an index consisting of
murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault,
burglary, larceny -theft, motor vehicle theft,
and arson. Part I crime dropped by 12
percent in Hennepin County in 1998, the
largest one-year decrease since we began
tracking it in 1975. The 1998 Part I crime
rate per 100,000 is about the same level as the
period 1975-1978, before it started increasing.
Furthermore, Minneapolis reports that
1999 Part I crimes decreased by an
additional 11 percent below the total in
1998. This means that 1999 will have
the lowest crime rate of any year since
1975. Violent crime, a small subset of
total Part I crime, is decreasing but is still
high compared to levels prior to the mid-
1980s. Currently, a much smaller
proportion of the population is in the most
crime -prone age range than was the case in
the 1970s. However, there has been an
increase in the poverty rate, and rapid
growth in the number of juveniles and
young adults of color, who historically, have
had very high arrest rates.
Decrease in Violent Crime Arrest Rates
of Black and White Juveniles
One of the most encouraging trends has
been the remarkable decrease in the rate of
arrest of black and white juveniles for
violent crimes. In Minneapolis, the
estimated violent crime arrest rate per 1,000
for these groups doubled between 1989 and
1994, then dropped back to 1989 levels in
1998. Minneapolis reports an additional 11
percent decline in juvenile violent crime
Hennepin County Office of Planning & Development
6.000
5.000
4,000-
3.000
2.666
1,000
0
10,000
9,000
91000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
21000
1,000
so
45
40
35
30
is
20
15
10
5
0
75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 86 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
Year
Part I Violent Crimes, 1977-98 (Murder,
Rape, Robbery, and Aggravated Assault)
Stacked Area Chart
77 78 79 80 81 ffi 83 84 85 86 87 p 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 9 6
Year
Change in Minneapolis Juvenile Arrest Rates of Males
for Part I Violent Crimes by Race, (based on Minneapolis
Public School student counts by race) 1989, 1994, 1998
Am Indian Asian Black White
0 1989 13 1994 1998
Page 1
HENNEPIN COUNTY CRIME REPORT HIGHLIGHTS 1998
arrests in 1999. The arrest rate has grown, however, for Asian juveniles. In the absence of
any other source of current data on population by race, we used as a proxy measure, the
Minneapolis Public School District's student enrollment by race. Unfortunately, this makes
arrest rates of American Indian and black juveniles appear to be higher than they actually are.
American Indian and black juveniles have higher dropout rates, and our method divided the
total arrests, including those of dropouts, by only the enrolled student population. The method
provides a useful way of measuring change over time within racial groups, but does not
accurately measure the differences in arrest rates between groups.
Decrease in Property Crime Arrest
Rates of American Indian, Black
and White Juveniles
Property crime arrests rates for
American Indian, black, and white
juveniles in Minneapolis have also
shown substantial declines.
Minneapolis reports a further l 1
percent decline in juvenile property
crime arrests in 1999.
Minneapolis Juvenile Arrest Rates of Males for Part I
Property Crimes by Race, (based on Minneapolis Public School
student counts by race), 1989, 1994, 1998
300-
253
250-
200-
15850200158
150,+,.
113
loo 91
65
50 40
19 16 19 momL .0
Bubble of Violent Crime Am Indian Asian Black White
In retrospect, the period of the mid- 0198901 994.1995
1980s to mid-1990s saw a bubble of
growth in the violent crimes—especially robbery, assault, and murder. The property crime
categories, except for motor vehicle theft, showed relatively little growth. Recent research
suggests that the growth in violent crimes, especially robbery, was related to the epidemic of
crack cocaine use and the violence used by dealers.' At least part of the recent big -city crime
rate decreases are attributed to the spurning of crack by younger adults. Locally, we also
observed a close correlation between cocaine use indicators and assaults and motor vehicle
theft. Certainly many other factors may have contributed to the crime rate reductions,
including a surging labor market, changes in law enforcement, and community-based
prevention efforts.
Murders by Type of Weapon, 1981-98
Decrease in Handgun Crimes e0
Illegal use of handguns has been 70
declining after a very rapid increase 60
during the first half of the 1990s, so
peaking in 1994-95. The surge in
murders seen during that time entirely
4 0
involved firearm murders. The use of 30
firearms in robberies and aggravated 20
assaults, and arrests for weapons 10
violations, all show the same pattern of 0
rapid increase during the early 1990s,
followed by substantial declines from
82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
Year
1-46--H ream Knife — - Ha nds/Feet ---4D--Other
1 Eric Baumer et al., "The Influence of Crack Cocaine on Robbery, Burglary, and Homicide Rates: A Cross -City
Longitudinal Analysis," Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 35, No. 3, August 1998, pp. 316-
340.
Page 2 Hennepin County Office of Planning & Development
y
HENNEPIN COUNTY CRIME REPORT HIGHLIGHTS 1998
1995 to 1998. These firearm indicators do, however, remain above the levels seen prior to
1990.
Changes in Law Enforcement
Changes in law enforcement
strategies are apparent from the arrest
trends. For example, arrests for
liquor law violations, drug violations,
disorderly conduct, prostitution, and
curfew violation all increased by
more than 40 percent from 1996 to
1998. Most of the increased arrests
occurred in Minneapolis. These
increases may be largely enforcement
driven and may not represent an
increase in crime occurrence. The
number of arrests for these crimes
may have peaked in 1998.
Minneapolis reports that Part II crime
arrests decreased by 2 percent in 1999,
with a 6 percent decrease in drug
arrests.
Minneapolis and other jurisdictions
have also become more strategic in
their enforcement efforts through
programs like CODEFOR, which
identifies and targets localized crime
patterns. The Hennepin County Drug
court has made innovations in
community supervision and drug
treatment that may also be having a
positive effect on crime rates.
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2000
1,000
Arrests for Drugs, Liquor Violations, and Disorderly
Conduct, 1996-1998
osunurbs
Minneapolis
1996 1997 1998 1996 1997 1998 1996 1997 1998
Drugs Liquor Disorderly
Juvenile Curfew Arrests, 1986-98
500
000
Minneapolis ----lo
500 - A
000
514 —
Suburbs
soo
0
86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 % 97 98
Year
No Let -Up for the Criminal Justice System
The workload of the criminal justice system is determined by the number of arrests, not by the
crime rate. From 1994 to 1998, the number of Part I crime arrests declined by 584, from
12,822 to 12,238. However, the number of arrests for Part II crimes (all other crimes, e.g.
simple assault, drugs, fraud, liquor laws, etc.) increased by 3,842, from 76,467 to 80,309.
There is not a simple comparison between the seriousness and complexity of Part I cases
versus Part 11 cases. For example, 60 percent of the Part I crimes are larceny -theft cases,
which can be a $25 shoplifting incident, whereas some of the Part II crimes can be felony -
level offenses. Therefore, any workload reduction from the drop in the Part I crime rate may
have been more than offset by the load imposed by the increase in Part II arrests.
In summary, the data show a continuing decrease in crime, accompanied by an increase in
enforcement -driven arrests. Based on Minneapolis data those arrests will, however, probably
show a slight decline in 1999.
Hennepin County Office of Planning & Development Page 3
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