04-14-2014 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 14, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3 of 30 5. ORONO POLICE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORT Police Chief Correy Farniok stated he would like to provide the City Council with a snapshot of what occurred with the Police Department in 2013. Farniok stated Orono currently provides contract police services to Minnetonka Beach, Mound, and Spring Park. Farniok stated the police department’s organization chart has changed slightly, with some of the part-time officers moving up into full-time positions due to retirements and with the addition of the deputy chief position. There are currently 27 full-time officers and four part-time officers. Farniok noted as it relates to calls for service, the police department has attempted to determine what days and times of the week require the most on-duty officers. The majority of the activity occurs on Friday nights as well as Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, but it also is dependent on what is happening within the City. Farniok noted there were slightly over 26,000 calls for service in 2013, with a lot of those related to traffic enforcement and traffic calls related to someone’s driving. There were 414 calls related to property and animal service as called in through dispatch. Farniok stated the police department also monitors its response time to the various calls, and the overall average response time in 2013 for priority one calls was 4.65 minutes. Farniok noted the service area is approximately 31 square miles. The response time is also broken down by the various contract cities and that overall response time is between 3.5 and 4 minutes. Farniok stated the police department uses the response times to determine whether the patrolled areas should be expanded. Farniok noted Orono and Mound receive around 41 to 42 percent of the services among the contract cities. Farniok noted as it relates to Part I crimes, the police department responded to one homicide in Orono, which was the first homicide in the City in over a decade. Farniok noted the City did experience a spike in thefts, with the vast majority of those being crimes of opportunity where someone has left their car or house unlocked. The police department is attempting to increase its education component to help raise the level of awareness among the residents to help deter crime. Farniok noted robberies in the area decreased last year as well as aggravated assaults. Farniok stated the biggest concern received from the citizens is why the police department does what it does in connection with traffic enforcement. Farniok noted the police department issued 84 DUIs in 2013, with four of those DUIs resulting in substantial injuries to various parties. Overall the police department issued slightly over 3,000 citations, with 359 of those being seat belt violations and 691 speeding citations. Farniok noted there were 273 traffic crashes in the area, with two involving pedestrians and 29 of the accidents resulting in injuries. Farniok noted there is a huge campaign going on currently to crack down on distracted drivers. Farniok noted as it relates to cases being investigated by the police department, there were 645 cases that were referred to the investigation unit and 312 of those resulted in arrest. The police department also investigated 24 deaths, with four of those determined to be suicide. Farniok noted there was one officer involved shooting in 2013, which was the first for the police department. Farniok stated in addition there were 576 alarms, with 483 of those being false alarms. Farniok stated the number of false alarms resulted in a huge time commitment for the police department and that steps are being taken to educate the residents on false alarms. Fines are also imposed on multiple false alarms.