After the height of the coronavirus pandemic last summer, crime in downtown St. Paul fell 23 percent this summer to a five-year low, the St. Paul Downtown Alliance announced Thursday.
The decreased crime came after “a combination of a lot of different resources,” including $1 million in police overtime, social services for the increased number of people who were homeless and “significant efforts” by the city and county to find shelter for them, and continued coordination among various agencies, said Joe Spencer, Downtown Alliance president.
About 35 percent of downtown St. Paul’s regular workforce of 55,000 have returned to their offices, according to the alliance.
“We know that the perception of safety plays a key role in how families, employers and residents determine where they visit, work and live, and our comprehensive approach to improving those perceptions is vital to making downtown St. Paul a vibrant city center for everyone,” Spencer said.
After 2,260 police calls downtown for serious and quality-of-life calls in June, July and August last year, the number fell to 1,748 this summer.
The Downtown Alliance piloted the concept of a Street Team in 2018 and 2019 to clean up litter and graffiti, provide directions to visitors and workers, and act “as another set of eyes for public safety responders,” according to a statement from the alliance. The Street Team has grown to 16 members, and Spencer said they and the new Downtown Improvement District’s Safety Communications Center are now key parts of the strategy.
The center has been able to communicate with downtown property owners and their security teams “about emerging public safety issues and trends, and activate our Street Team, social workers and other community response workers — requesting police support when necessary,” said John Bandemer, Safety Communications Center director.
Frederick Melo contributed to this report.
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Crime in downtown St. Paul fell to 5-year low this summer with combination of resources, Downtown Alliance says - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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