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Jul 4, 2009 10:43 pm US/Central
St. Paul Police Get Help Covering Weekend Events
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
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It was a chore to navigate the line to get into the Somali American Independence Soccer Tournament at Griffin Field in St. Paul.
CBS
This weekend, tens of thousands of people headed to St. Paul for a host of events, tournaments and neighborhood festivals.
According to St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, the police department is currently 40 officers below authorized strength. The numbers forced police to be creative in their efforts to patrol neighborhoods and to try to keep holiday festivals and tournaments crime-free.
The plan is called Operation Force Multiplier.
"We pull investigators out of the office and bring them back out onto the street and patrol at times we need them most," said St. Paul police Public information officer, Paul Schnell.
Schnell says the extra manpower allows them to respond to the needs of all the events in the city and respond to the day to day calls for service.
From the Taste of Minnesota to the Hmong International Sports Tournament, police are making their presence known, and people are noticing.
"It is nice to see a presence," said Vicky Enger.
Enger says additional officers and the use of a private security firm at the Taste of Minnesota lets her concentrate on enjoying the entertainment and not be concerned about crime.
"It seems to be much more safe, I think that was one of the concerns in prior years, is the safety. We have not had any problems," said Sam Ehlenz of Security Specialists, Inc.
Ehlenz says 135 private security officers were on hand to help St. Paul police keep the peace.
St. Paul police say the department is not at authorized strength because of retirements and budget concerns.
They hope federal stimulus dollars can be obtained to help add officers to the force in the near future.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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