Spring Lake Park’s police department answered nine percent more calls last year than the year before. That includes more property crimes like thefts from cars and catalytic converter thefts, as well as medical calls. They did it despite three retirements on the force, and illnesses due to COVID. “The challenges are that we have an eleven man force. If you have three out on retirement and several out on COVID, you have a limited amount of officers to cover the street,” said Police Chief Josh Antoine. Officers worked overtime. An investigator, a school resource officer and Chief Antoine all picked up extra patrol shifts. The officers who were out with COVID are back now, but police are still asking the community’s help in keeping an eye on neighborhoods. “We did see a slight uptick in theft crimes in 2021 over 2020,” said Antoine. He says the increase follows a national trend. At a recent city council meeting, it prompted Mayor Bob Nelson to ask people to call 911 when they see something out of the ordinary. “You know your street you know your neighborhood,” said Nelson. “We try to do the best public service police protection we can in this city. But with limited staff, illnesses, it’s so very important that everybody step up to the plate [to] protect their city, protect their neighborhood.” Chief Antoine says two officers in training now will soon be ready, and he expects to hire another soon. That should help the manpower issue. But he says he’s a strong supporter of expanding neighborhood watch for the longer term. “How we would like to use it and revitalize it, we would really like to have a big portion of the city be part of the Neighborhood Watch. They can be those eyes and ears for us. But it’s also a way for the community to connect with each other, for neighbors to connect with other neighbors,” said Antoine. Spring Lake Park’s website has information about how to get involved in neighborhood watch. While officials are asking people to keep an eye out for possible crime in the neighborhood, they advise against confronting someone. Instead, call 911 and let police handle it.
SPRING LAKE PARK POLICE URGE CITIZENS TO KEEP WATCH FOR NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME
SPRING LAKE PARK – (Jan. 27, 2022) – Spring Lake Park Police are asking citizens to be the extra eyes on the street as they work through a manpower shortage and an uptick in property crimes. Staffing issues peaked in late December and early January.
