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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Council Worksession <br />January 25, 2022 <br />5:00 pm <br /> <br /> <br />Present: Mayor Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas <br /> Councilmember Abdullahi Abdulle <br />Councilmember Graeme Allen <br /> Councilmember Pam Axberg <br />Councilmember Emily Dunsworth <br />Absent: <br /> <br />Staff in Attendance: Devin Massopust, Tony Paetznick <br /> <br />Guests in Attendance: <br /> <br />New Brighton Public Safety Crime Update and Discussion <br /> <br />Massopust stated Public Safety Director Tony Paetznick had a presentation for the Council. <br /> <br />Paetznick provided the Council with a presentation on crime trends in the City of New Brighton. He stated <br />2021 was a challenging year for law enforcement the both the country and state. He reported murders have hit <br />a record level statewide. He explained opioid overdose deaths have nearly doubled from 2018 to 2020 and <br />traffic fatalities were up nearly 37%. He was pleased to report violent crimes were down, but noted there had <br />been a dramatic increase in burglary and thefts. He broke down the thefts in that were occurring in further <br />detail noting this included theft from motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts and other larceny (vehicle thefts, car <br />jackings and gas drive offs). He described how the city was addressing the theft of catalytic converters through <br />high visibility painting events. A five year comparison of motor vehicles pursuits and use of force incidents <br />was reviewed. He discussed the voluntary camera registry campaign that took place in 2021 and commented <br />on how footage could help the police should an incident occur. <br /> <br />Councilmember Allen requested further information on how use of force was defined. Paetznick explained <br />anything more than handcuffing an individual was considered a use of force incident. <br /> <br />Paetznick reviewed the departments operational and administrative initiatives. He reported an officer had been <br />reassigned to the Ramsey County Violent Crime Enforcement Team (VCET). He explained he has had <br />conversations with the Holiday gas station management regarding the gasoline drive offs that occur. In <br />addition, he has had conversations with suburban Ramsey Count y Chiefs of Police Association members and <br />the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office about the crime trends in the community. At a patrol level, his officers <br />were being proactive with traffic safety enforcement, were gathering intelligence and had targeted vehicular <br />and foot patrol. In addition, the department has been deploying the camera trailer, sending out multi-agency <br />crime alerts and crime prevention messaging. <br /> <br />Paetznick discussed the police staffing challenges he was facing. He noted the department was authorized to <br />have 31 licensed peace officers in the 2022 budget and there were 24 officers available across all ranks at this <br />time. He commented on how he continues to seek Public Safety Officers (PSO’s) along with lateral and