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 operation providers will be guiding people to guidance including addiction healing and housing services Metro Transit police reported Wednesday A new initiative Safe and Strong University Avenue will bring together law enforcement amenity 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 details from our crime intelligence unit disclosed Joe Dotseth interim Metro Transit police chief at a Wednesday press conference near University and Snelling avenues Metro Transit is advancing 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 bulk 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 Populace wellness 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 district institution officers and TRIP agents Transit Rider Funding Activity Doseth mentioned This is not solely about enforcement he announced While serious criminal behavior will effect in arrest our collaborative approach prioritizes connecting people with services whenever realizable Responders from St Paul-Ramsey County Population Wellbeing are working alongside the Metro Transit s Homeless Action Organization to bring a populace wellness approach to concerns that arise on populace transit noted Gloria Reyes deputy Ramsey County manager of the Safety and Justice Provision Unit Masses robustness responders provide Narcan along with referrals for services Ramsey County s mental healthcare response teams are also supporting people in emotional distress helping stabilize situations and guiding people to long term care Reyes disclosed 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 explained We are seeing a populace physical condition situation and we need to bring our constituents wellbeing emergency workers out into the field Prosecution approach includes looking at mental physical condition addiction Ramsey County Attorney John Choi stated 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 announced And we ve had a few challenges over the past scarce years We re starting to see selected 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 examination on those cases and more information so that we can take the appropriate actions 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 certain instances and also to efforts to address the underlying reasons of their justice involvement which oftentimes is mental healthcare related or addiction related he added For violent offenses Choi announced 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 figures Related Articles Bayport couple ascertained 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 system 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 declared the system felt safer than it did six months ago in part due to increased presence Metro Transit disclosed