The City Wide Services Unit is part of the Operations Division of the Saint Paul Police Department and consists of the following seven (7) functions:  A Community Outreach Program (A.C.O.P.), the Canine (K-9) Unit, the Community Liaison Officer Program, Mounted Patrol, the Parking Enforcement Unit, Traffic and Accident Investigation, and the Traffic Enforcement Unit.

The City Wide Services Unit is under the command of Senior Commander Gregory Pye, (651) 266-5999 (Email) and is based in our facility at 1820 Edgcumbe Road, Saint Paul, MN 55116.

A Community Outreach Program (A.C.O.P.) is essentially a community-based police outreach program with concentrated efforts in the four (4) Saint Paul public housing communities of Dunedin, McDonough, Mount Airy and Roosevelt.  A.C.O.P. is a cooperative program, jointly sponsored by the Saint Paul Police Department and the Saint Paul Public Housing Agency.

The A.C.O.P. policing team helps families with law enforcement matters, crisis intervention and family counseling.  The team also sponsors and hosts social, recreational and educational activities such as the Police Athletic League (P.A.L.), the Leadership Program and the Summer Youth Employment Program.

A.C.O.P. officers are based at the McDonough Community Center, 1544 Timberlake Road, Saint Paul, MN 55107.

Contact Sergeant Ray Jefferson for more information:  (651) 558-2305 (Email).

The Saint Paul Police Canine (K-9) Unit is the second oldest police canine organization in the United States.  We operate with twenty-one (21) Officer/Canine teams and provide 24/7 coverage.  
The mission of the Canine (K-9) Unit is to support the patrol districts with all patrol functions.  In addition to basic patrol dog responsibilities, our canines specialize in:  criminal suspect searches/apprehensions, evidence searches, explosive detection, narcotic detection, open area searches, site security and tracking.  The Saint Paul Police Department also deploys single purpose canines solely trained for narcotic and explosive detection.

Public education is also an important element of the Canine (K-9) Unit.  Officers conduct public demonstrations for neighborhood, civic and community organizations on a regular basis.  During the Minnesota State Fair, make sure you visit the Pet Building at 7:00 p.m. almost every night to view our presentation.

The Canine (K-9) Unit is partially supported by the non-profit Saint Paul Police K-9 Foundation, since all canines must currently be purchased.  Donated dogs are no loger accepted.

Saint Paul Police canine officers have received over three hundred awards for national, regional, local or departmental recognition of quality poilice work.  They recently hosted the National Field Trials for the United States Police Canine Association.  One of our Officer/Canine teams was recently named "Team of the Year" by Police K9 Magazine.

Contact Sergeant Paul Dunnom for more information:  (651) 266-5773 (Email).

The Community Liaison Officer position is designed for people who are students in a law enforcement program and anticipate becoming sworn members of the Saint Paul Police Department.   Once hired, Community Liaison Officers have approximately four (4) years to complete their academic fields and move into the Saint Paul Police Academy.

 

Community Liaison Officers provide investigative and operational support for various units throughout the Department.  One of the criteria for this position is that the employee be bi-lingual.  Community Liaison Officers assist in our outreach programs to the diverse populations that live in, work and visit the City of Saint Paul.

 

The Mounted Patrol Unit operates full-time and throughout the entire year.  The unit is involved in large-scale events, regular patrol and, of course, just meeting the public.  Horses have been proven to be effective in crowds, as well as with regular street patrol - and their presence is both friendly in addition to being a valuable patrol asset. 

Unit staffing consists of four (4) officers and a sergeant who are assigned full time. The unit has six (6) horses from a variety of breeds. The units horses are primarily donations made to the non profit “friends” organization which helps support unit training.

The unit runs a six week (240 hour) basic qualification course each spring to train additional riders and assists in training mounted officers from other jurisdictions. All full time unit members have trained with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in
Ottawa, Canada and competed or attended training at both Regional and National Mounted Police events.

The hours of deployment vary with demands for service. The horses work in all areas of the city from downtown to commercial and residential neighborhoods.

The officers carry trading cards of themselves and their horses, so be sure and ask for one. The officers will allow you to pet the horses, but please ask the officer first and ask where that particular horse likes to be petted.

Remember, when you ask the officers to stop and talk, or if you can pet the horse, they may be on a call for service. Please be understanding if the officers tell you they can not stop because they are working, and be sure to ask again the next time you see them.

Any questions or comments concerning the Saint Paul Mounted Police Unit should be directed to Sergeant Denise Gilbertson at (651) 266-5921 (Email).

Parking Enforcement is an entry-level law enforcement job. Parking Enforcement Officers (PEOs) have four (4) years from the date of hire to complete a two or four-year degree, the P.O.S.T. Skills Course and become eligible to be licensed. They then have promotional rights to the regular police academy.

PEO shifts cover seven days a week, 24-hours a day. They are non-sworn employees who enforce the City's parking regulations. They also assist police officers with vehicle tows and recovering stolen cars. There are fourteen (14) PEOs currently in the police department.

The Accident Investigation Unit is responsible for investigations of the 11,000+ vehicle crashes that occur in Saint Paul every year which cause in excess of $98 million dollars of damages.  The majority of their work is dedicated to fatal, serious injury and Hit & Run accidents, as well as gross misdemeanor/felony level DWI and fleeing police offenses.

Our investigators specialize in scene processing, accident reconstruction and forensic mapping for court presentations.  They serve as subject matter experts and have hosted national seminars in the past.  We manage several specialized traffic enforcement programs such as Operation NightCAP, Safe & Sober, and Heavy Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic to improve public safety on our streets.  

We are based in the City Wide Services office and can be reached at (651) 266-5722 for more information.

Officers who work in these units operate on police motorcycles and/or police squad cars specially designed for traffic enforcement.  They are tasked with traffic enforcement and dignitary escorts throughout the year.  Traffic related incidents in Saint Paul are responsible for millions of dollars of damages.  The Motors/Traffic Enforcement Officers work on a pro-active basis as well as a re-active basis, concentrating on resolving neighborhood complaints.

 

Please drive accordingly to avoid an up-close and personal visit with our Officers.

 

For further information, please contact Sergeant Stu Burke at 651-266-5582   Email