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2018 Annual Report • Police Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota <br /> <br /> <br />24 | P a g e <br /> <br />XI. Community Engagement Summary <br />PREPARED BY SERGEANT MIKE HUDDLE <br />The St. Anthony Police Department’s philosophy is that all of our Officers, from the Police Chief <br />to our newest officers, are Community Engagement Officers, regardless of assignment within <br />the department. We believe that our first priority is to seek ways to develop deep and <br />meaningful relationships with the communities we are entrusted to serve. This should take <br />place at the individual level with each officer. Each encounter we have with members of the <br />community is a community engagement opportunity, whether that’s a conversation over coffee <br />or on a traffic stop. Officers attend planned community events, coordinate department hosted <br />activities, and make time while out on patrol to reach out and get involved with people <br />wherever they may be. This report will highlight some of those activities, the vast majority of <br />which are conducted by our patrol staff. <br />As was stated above, all of our officers are expected to support the mission and vision of the <br />police department by increasing community partnerships and inclusion through community <br />engagement. In addition to this, our Community Engagement Team has as its goal to carry this <br />out further. This group is made up of five officers (Sgt. Mike Huddle, Officer Tressa Sunde, <br />Officer Jim South, Officer Kiel Rushton and Officer Dane Lazenberry). All of these officers are <br />assigned to patrol as their primary responsibility. They volunteer for this assignment as an <br />additional duty, above their patrol functions. All have completed the MN Bureau of Criminal <br />Apprehension Crime Prevention Practitioners certification course. Some of the work these <br />officers do includes bringing free instruction and information to the public. This includes <br />information on personal protection, workplace violence awareness, identity theft and senior <br />safety. These officers also utilize our social media platforms to share information on crime <br />trends, safety information, weather related events, and news related to the police department <br />and the local community. <br />As a team, we accomplished a few small new things in 2018 that we hope will benefit our <br />department and community. First, three community engagement officers volunteered as <br />mentors with the Century College Law Enforcement Program. These officers joined others as <br />mentors for law enforcement students at Century College. The officers give guidance, <br />encouragement, and other support to students as they work their way toward a degree and <br />eventually a career in policing. We hope that this partnership will allow us to seek out, recruit,