In the Beginning — 13

A special unit, Focusing Our Resources on Community Empowerment (F.O.R.C.E.), began its mission in 1992. Dedicated and designed to respond to public safety priorities set by residents, the F.O.R.C.E. Unit was able to provide a direct link for crime prevention efforts between the block watch groups and police officers, who could respond quickly to specific problems. The F.O.R.C.E. unit sought long-term resolution to problems, worked with the community, and brought a variety of resources to focus on community problems.

A program to enhance communication between the business community in the downtown area and the skyway officers was also implemented. Skyway officers were issued business cards and digital pagers that allowed the community to have direct and immediate contact with them at any time.

Police substations were opened in 1993, the first one at Case and Payne, and another on Selby Avenue near Dale Street. The officers assigned to this beat built relationships with area residents and the business community. The substations provided a sense of stability and safety in those areas.

For many years, all of the investigative units were located at police headquarters in downtown Saint Paul. This central location led to delays because investigators were forced to wait for reports and other paperwork to reach them. In 1993, investigators began working out of the team offices. They could respond to victims more promptly and bring conclusion to cases assigned within that team’s geographic area.

The Saint Paul Police Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission was established by city ordinance in 1993. The commission included five civilian members and two police representatives. The primary duty of the commission was review of the completed Internal Affairs Unit’s investigations of police misconduct. After each case was reviewed, the commission made a recommendation to the chief of police as to final disposition and disciplinary action, when warranted. The formal complaint of police misconduct was required to be in written form, in order to begin the process.

For years the Department acknowledged that one way to remove the illusion of barriers between police and the community involved removing officers from squad cars and placing them closer to the people they served. In 1993, the Department reimplemented bicycle patrols in each of the team areas. The community response was overwhelmingly positive toward the officers, who patrolled on specially equipped bicycles.

The Saint Paul Police Department experienced a tragic year in 1994 when two of its finest, Officers Ronald M. Ryan, Jr. and Timothy J. Jones, along with his canine partner Laser, were killed in the line-of-duty. It had been twenty-four years since a Saint Paul police officer had fallen to gunfire. That changed the morning of August 26, 1994 when Guy Harvey Baker, a man who was wanted on a weapons charge and had talked about shooting a police officer, drove to Saint Paul and fell asleep in his car in a church parking lot. When Officer Ryan checked on the vehicle, Baker shot and killed him, taking Ryan’s service weapon as he fled the scene. A massive search for the suspect was organized and Officer Jones came in on his day off with Laser to help hunt for the suspect. Officer Jones was ambushed with his K-9 partner; both were killed. The memories of these two fine officers and their ultimate sacrifice live on in the history of the Department.

In 1994, the Saint Paul Police Department and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department consolidated the Identification Units of both agencies into one. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office now managed the detention of prisoners, in addition to processing and collecting criminal history data of all persons arrested in the county.

In the same year, the Department upgraded its service weapons from the Glock 9mm, semi-automatic pistol to Glock’s .40 caliber model. The new handgun gave the officer additional fire power and night-sites. Training classes were given by range staff to accommodate the transition.

Neighborhood Service Areas (N.S.A.) were designated in well-defined neighborhoods. Identified police officers were assigned primary responsibility for the service areas, analogous to the historical concept of the beat cop. This program brought community oriented policing closer to the neighborhoods.

The Saint Paul Police Department reconfigured its delivery of services in 1994 by dividing the city into three districts, instead of the four team areas. These three districts were defined as the Eastern, Central, and Western Districts. The Western District had a north and a south office.

1995 brought about the reformation of a unit, which played a big part in the Department’s mobility in the early 1900's. A six-member Mounted Police Unit was organized and continues to be a highly visible component of the Department. While assigned details constituted their primary mission, routine patrol on horse-back and patrol unit assistance soon became an integral part of their responsibilities.

The Saint Paul Police Canine Unit again received a national award, the fifth time in seven years that the unit was judged top team in the country by the United States Police Canine Association. This particular award had significant meaning for the Saint Paul unit because it was now, for the first time, called the Tim Jones/Laser Memorial Award.

The Saint Paul Police Department sponsored its first Citizen Police Academy in 1995. Thirty citizens participated in the nine-week course, modeled after the police recruit academy curriculum. Requirements for participation included: the applicant must be a citizen of, or work in Saint Paul; must be twenty-one years of age or older; and must have no criminal record. Applicant requests were obtained from neighborhood district councils. The academy continues to provide citizens a better understanding of the issues and situations that officers encounter on a daily basis.

1996 was the first year in the Department’s history where fifty percent of officers joining the Department were either minorities or women. The demographics of employees of the Saint Paul Police Department in 1996 were as follows:

This was also the year when a partnership between local cable television and the Saint Paul Police Department was formed. A thirty-minute public information show was initiated. The production’s name, “10-1," was taken from the department’s 10-code system of radio communication. In that system, 10-1 means: clear channel one for important or emergency information. The cable program airs every day at various times. Each month a new program is produced, which informs local citizens of the different functions of their police department. The program also presents crime information, statistics, and methods to prevent citizens from becoming a crime victim.