The Saint Paul Police Department recognizes the negative and pervasive influence that violent street gangs and guns have on the quality of life in our community. The department also recognizes that violent gang crimes and gun related violent activities are a social phenomenon that requires a coordinated response between our police officers, our citizens, and the combined resources of the City of Saint Paul. The Gang/Gun Unit is designed to combine resources in an effort to prevent and respond to illegal gang and gun activities in the City of Saint Paul.

The phone number to the Saint Paul Police Gang/Gun Unit is (651) 266-5680

Goals:

Prevention: Prevent young men and women of Saint Paul from entering into a violent street gang lifestyle.

Intervention: Locate confirmed gang members and provide them with alternatives to the gang lifestyle.

Apprehension: Locate and apprehend confirmed gang members who have committed crime or are in the act of committing a crime.

Prosecution: Charge suspects for illegally possessing firearms and or committing gang related acts of violence.

THE SAINT PAUL POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE  (Mission Statement)

The mission of the Saint Paul Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) is to promote positive relationships between police officers and youth through community based educational and recreational opportunities.

Our philosophy that “Cops Helping Kids” is a positive way to impact the lives of inner-city youth and guide them to become productive and contributing members of our community.

P.A.L. will help to guide our youth away from negative behavior such as gangs, violence and drugs, by providing alternative activities to our youth, while establishing a rapport with police officers serving as mentors and role models.

P.A.L. is involved in various boys and girls sports, baseball, softball, soccer, tackle football, flag football,, basketball, volleyball and boxing. Officers coaching P.A.L., coach while on-duty when staffing permits; some coach and are paid overtime and some volunteer asking for nothing in return. Anyone can become a P.A.L. coach.

Click here for more information about P.A.L.

Click here for P.A.L. Registration Form (Front)

Click here for P.A.L. Registration Form - Code of Conduct (Back)

 

The Saint Paul Police Department implemented the G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) program in September 2006 in the Gang/Gun Unit.  The program was started with funding from the St. Paul Police Foundation.  During the first year of the program, G.R.E.A.T. was taught at Humboldt Junior High School and Cleveland Middle School.  A total of approximately 220 students graduated from the first year of the G.R.E.A.T. program in St. Paul.

The Saint Paul Police Department applied for --and was awarded -- a federal grant for the 2007- 2008 school year.  This grant has allowed the G.R.E.A.T. program to expand, and now includes four middle schools, three elementary schools and a Families and Summer program.  The Families program focuses on ten families at a time, providing lessons to the parents as well as the youth.  The Summer program is a one-week camp setting for youth, and a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club.  The Summer program consists of five different one-week programs, involving a total of 250 youths; approximately 50 youths a week.

Over 1,000 youth will participate in the G.R.E.A.T. program this year. Every student who graduates will participate in the graduation / rewards field trip. This year we have taken the students bowling, roller skating and to an interactive circus encounter. Currently we have six officers and one sergeant actively teaching, organizing and participating in the G.R.E.A.T. program.

G.R.E.A.T. is a school-bases, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom curriculum.  With prevention as its primary objective, the program is intended as an immunization against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership.  Click here for the G.R.E.A.T Website.

LESSONS:

The outline of the core program for G.R.E.A.T. is the middle school component.  Below are the lessons which are taught to the middle

The G.R.E.A.T. middle school curriculum consists of thirteen 30- to 45-minute lessons designed to be taught in sequential order.

Click here for the complete class lesson schedule:

PASS 2 PLAY FOOTBALL ACADEMY:

Pass 2 Play Football Academy is the non profit portion of the Game Speed Football Academy. Game Speed Football Academy was founded by Minnesota Viking’s E.J. Henderson and Darren Sharper.
 
Game Speed is located in Eden Prairie. It is a state of the art football training facility. Pass 2 Play provides academic, athletic and social skills guidance to at risk youth. The founders of the Academy contacted the Saint Paul Police Gang/Gun Unit and offered 36 scholarships to at-risk young males of St. Paul. The Gang Unit located four students from each St. Paul public high school and four students from St. Bernard’s.

Starting Saturday November 10, 2007, and every Saturday thereafter until the students graduate from high school, the Gang/Gun Unit will transport these students to the Pass 2 Play Football Academy. The students will spend two hours every Saturday at the academy. The first hour will be spent on improving their academic and social skills. As the students get closer to graduation, the curriculum will concentrate on ACT/SAT preparation.

The ultimate goal is to produce productive young leaders of society. It is expected that once enrolled in the program, these student-athletes will lead by example in the classroom, athletic fields and out on the street.

For more information on the program, click here.

The Gun Unit takes a proactive approach to reducing gun violence in the City of Saint Paul.  Officers work closely with the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, the City Attorney's Office and along with State and Federal Attorneys to agressively prosecute violent gun crimes.  Officers work in the community, and in the schools, to educate as well as prevent young people from participating in gang activity and gun crimes.

The responsibilities of the SPPD Gun Unit consists of the following:

-Investigation of firearm-related cases, assisting other units with investigations and training involving firearm cases

-The Saint Police Department participates in State and Federal programs involving firearms, such as the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Tracing Center, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) National Integreated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).

-Sending DNA samples from violent offenders involving firearm cases to the (BCA) for testing.

-Execution of search warrants and the tracking of firearms taken as evidence.

-Review and the return of firearms to legally-authorized owners.