Community engagement focus of Wyoming Police Department

Offices seek to be approachable and partner with residents to solve crimes.

by Tesha M. Christensen

The Wyoming Police Department isn’t waiting for residents to reach out to them. Officers are actively engaging with residents and fostering partnerships as the community grows.

The department’s focus on community engagement is simple in its approach, but effective.

“I believe we already see the positive results of our community engagement,” remarked Wyoming Police Chief Paul Hoppe. “Every day people approach the officers on the street and strike up conversations, pass on information, and volunteer their time to help us police the community. 

“It’s truly a partnership that is working, and the positive energy is spreading through our community, and recognized by other communities across the state.”

OFFICERS WHO ARE APPROACHABLE

The Wyoming Police Department is working to improve the communication between the police department and the community by demonstrating the approachability of its officers.

“When it comes to policing, the police and the community are in it together; the police department is not an external entity but rather part of the community,” stated Chief Hoppe. “It’s important that the community recognizes the police as guardians of the community working in tandem with our residents and businesses to control crime in our community and improve the quality of life for those who live, work, and visit Wyoming.” 

He added, “By improving the communication, trust, and transparency we build effective partnerships to better understand the community’s needs and to solve community problems together.”

Chief Hoppe recognizes that everyone in the city -- whether they be elected officials, community members, business owners, or police department staff -- are invested in making the city of Wyoming a positive place to be. This positive energy and sense of community pride contribute to a great community.

SPYING TRENDS TO STAY AHEAD OF CRIME

To support its community engagement policy, Wyoming created a new crime analysist position.

Lauren Studer joined the department in December 2017.She earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and sociology from Hamline University. Prior to joining the Wyoming Police Department, she worked as an office assistant at Patent Law Firm in Minneapolis. She also worked for the Center for Homicide Research as a homicide researcher.

Studer will support the department’s proactive model of intelligence-based policy in three ways. She will assist investigations with case assembly, disseminate crime trend data to patrol; and assist administration with statistical research and accountability factors.

Like most suburban communities, crimes that occur most often in Wyoming are larceny/theft and auto theft, according to Chief Hoppe. “From there we see a fair amount of drug violations (excluding marijuana), DWI violations, and financial transaction fraud cases,” he said.

In 2016 the department addressed 372 crimes, and in 2017 officers managed 361.

REGIONAL CRIME ISSUES

As the metro area expands and communities such as Wyoming experience increased amenities and jobs closer to home, it also means that the population increases. As Wyoming is absorbed into the expanding metropolitan area, crime trends are no longer localized, but rather regionalized, explained Chief Hoppe.

“We begin to experience trends that expand beyond our city limits involving perpetrators from other communities who are victimizing multiple communities,” he said. “They become regional problems.”

Wyoming is already seeing perpetrators involved in criminal activity in the city who are involved in similar activity in Washington, Ramsey, Anoka, Hennepin, and St. Croix counties. 

“Most counties operate on separate records management systems so the cross-reporting becomes more problematic,” Chief Hoppe observed. “A crime analyst helps break through some of those barriers by collaborating with their counterparts in other organizations, and identifying similarities across jurisdictions to develop useful criminal intelligence to proactively combat crime issues locally.”

Through the new crime analyst position, Studer will develop useful regional and local information that can be disseminated to patrol officers as intelligence briefings. The department will also develop suspect and vehicle information related to crime trends.

Officers can then proactively target potential crimes and areas of potential problems. This will help them deter or prevent crimes before they occur and develop creative solutions.

Citizens may opt to stay updated emergency situations or critical community alerts by signing up for CodeRED notifications on the police department web site. CodeRED is a secure government emergency communications notification portal. Examples of alerts include: evacuation notices, missing child reports, police activity notices, and more.

Printed in the 2018 Forest Lake Community Guide.