Cops, service providers increasing presence on St. Paul’s University Ave, Green Line

Law enforcement will have a more visible presence along St Paul s University Avenue and the Green Line and organization providers will be guiding people to tools including addiction therapy and housing services Metro Transit police informed Wednesday A new initiative Safe and Strong University Avenue will bring together law enforcement arrangement providers and prosecutors It s planned to last until at least the end of summer and may be extended Metro Transit police St Paul police and the Ramsey County sheriff s office will conduct high visibility coordinated enforcement operations on the Green Line corridor based on precise material from our crime intelligence club commented Joe Dotseth interim Metro Transit police chief at a Wednesday press conference near University and Snelling avenues Metro Transit is progressing dedicated police beats in this area a proven approach that reduces crime and builds residents trust through consistent officer presence including a Hamline-Midway beat Dotseth added They also have the Transit Response Unit which is out on the system to deal with serious crime The majority of serious crimes were up slightly on the Metro Transit system in the first quarter of this year compared to last year but down from two years ago In the categories of robbery assault homicide sex offense theft from person motor bicycle and burglary there were reports in the first quarter of this year there were no homicides compared with in the same period last year and in the first quarter of according to Metro Transit statistics Inhabitants soundness approach included in plan Safe and Strong University Avenue builds on Metro Transit s ongoing work to expand official presence on transit which goes beyond police and includes society organization officers and TRIP agents Transit Rider Assets Initiative Doseth revealed This is not solely about enforcement he revealed While serious criminal behavior will end in arrest our collaborative approach prioritizes connecting people with services whenever viable Responders from St Paul-Ramsey County Masses Wellness are working alongside the Metro Transit s Homeless Action Organization to bring a constituents strength approach to concerns that arise on inhabitants transit reported Gloria Reyes deputy Ramsey County manager of the Safety and Justice Amenity Unit Citizens soundness responders provide Narcan along with referrals for services Ramsey County s mental soundness response teams are also supporting people in emotional distress helping stabilize situations and guiding people to long term care Reyes stated People who are struggling people who are causing a disturbance there s law enforcement there but there s also an opportunity for us to get to the root causes of what s occurring on the Metro Green Line Reyes declared We are seeing a residents soundness situation and we need to bring our constituents fitness dilemma workers out into the field Prosecution approach includes looking at mental soundness addiction Ramsey County Attorney John Choi explained they ve been meeting with Metro Transit police St Paul s police and Office of Neighborhood Safety along with the Ramsey County sheriff s office The light rail system truly belongs to the people he mentioned And we ve had specific challenges over the past sparse years We re starting to see specific better outcomes but we know that we need to do more Since August the Ramsey County Attorney s Office has been asking law enforcement agencies that present cases for charging consideration to designate which ones happened in the University Avenue Green Line corridor There have been cases in the corridor presented since August and the county attorney s office has charged more than percent of them What we are asking for is better inspection on those cases and more information so that we can take the appropriate policies in the court system Choi explained That s led to prosecutors asking judges to issue orders to stay away from transit or geographic areas in particular instances and also to efforts to address the underlying reasons of their justice involvement which oftentimes is mental vitality related or addiction related he added For violent offenses Choi declared his office still seeks prison time or the recommendation under state sentencing guidelines but multiple of the cases that emerge from the area are misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor level Ridership below pandemic levels Metro Transit ridership has been increasing though it still remains below pre-pandemic numbers There were million rides on the system last year compared with million in according to Metro Transit statistics Related Articles Bayport couple detected dead in home natural causes determined Group calls for Target to apologize St Paul PD to look at false reporting after men accused of being armed Wildfire evacuation orders lifted in northern Minnesota What Minnesota laws and policies changed after George Floyd Here are topics deadliest days on roads kick off Memorial Day weekend In the first quarter of proactive calls for police amenity by Metro Transit officers increased compared to the same quarter last year We re aggressively targeting quality-of-life violations that diminish the riders experience Doseth commented which could include smoking on the train or people acting in a disorderly way Serious crimes on the system remain consistently low In a fall survey more than of respondents disclosed the system felt safer than it did six months ago in part due to increased presence Metro Transit explained