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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes February 10, 2009 Page 5 C. St. Anthony Police Department Annual Report. John Ohl, Police Chief, reporting. 4 Police Chief Ohl provided a PowerPoint presentation on the St. Anthony Police Department 5 2008 Annual Report, including the following information: 6 W Statistics 7 ® Part 1 Crimes 8 M Part 2 Crimes 9 0 Other Calls of Interest 10 ® 2008 Department Awards 11. 0 Patrol Review 12 N Investigation Review 13 N Education Summary 14 M Police Reserve Summary 15 W Crime Prevention Summary 16 17 Police Chief Ohl commended Captain Dominic Cotroneo and the officers. He thanked Mayor 18 Faust, the City Council, and City Manager Mornson for the support of the Police Department. 19 20 Mayor Faust requested information about the Shop with a Cop Program. Police Chief Ohl stated 21 Walmart and Pepsi donated funds and have allowed the Police Department to take kids that have 22 been identified by the School District as being in economically difficult situations shopping. 23 They were able to fill some Christmas wishes. 24 25 Mayor Faust requested information about the Stop and Talk Program. Police Chief Ohl explained 26 Stop and Talk involves police officers interacting with citizens about the potential for them to 27 become a victim of an offense. One example would be leaving a note or making contact with au 28 individual when a garage door is left open. 29 30 Mayor Faust commended the Police Department for the way they reach out to the community 31 and show that they are there to protect and serve. 32 33 Councilmember Gray inquired about changes in crimes categorized as theft and whether these 34 types of crimes are economically driven. Police Chief Ohl replied he has not been able to 35 determine a direct correlation between the economy and criminal offenses. When gas prices were 36 high there were drive offs, but business people react to the trend and do business in a different 37 way such as requiring pre -pays. He pointed out that Part I crimes are flat and there has been a 38 decrease in Part 2 crimes. 39 40 Councilmember Roth requested discussion on what citizens can do to better protect their 41 property and neighbors' property as far as getting police involved when they see something 42 suspect. Police Chief Ohl stated the Police Department conducts premise surveys for crime 43 prevention purposes if requested. One of the best ways to affect offenses in the City is to call 911 44 when an individual sees something that does not look right. He stated the big message is to be 45 willing to be wrong. There will often be a reasonable explanation for what is seen, but there are 5