Around (down)town: A message from Commander Jeremy Ellison, SPPD

News from the Downtown Alliance

December 5, 2019

A note from the president

Friends,

Congratulations to Ecolab CEO and Downtown Alliance board member Doug Baker for winning the Dayton Award earlier this week and to Abilitech for their recent round of funding. Also, this weekend kicks off the Union Depot Hub for the Holidays -- three weeks of events and special programming along with the opening of their new restaurant Station 81. More downtown news and events are below.

This week we are pleased to share our newsletter with Commander Jeremy Ellison, the Saint Paul Police downtown beat commander, who asked to share an update on downtown safety initiatives.

See you around downtown,

Joe Spencer

President

The Saint Paul Downtown Alliance

Jeremy Ellison, Downtown Beat Commander for the Saint Paul Police Department

Coordinating downtown safety resources

Hello downtown workers, residents and community members,

Have you noticed some new faces (and patches) in the skyways recently?

The friendly faces are law enforcement professionals from across the city. The patches on their uniforms let you know which agency they represent.

Together, they’re all part of an effort to make sure everyone is (and feels) safe downtown.

It’s an initiative spearheaded by Mayor Carter, Chief Axtell and you, the people who live and work in the heart of the city. As downtown has grown in both population and popularity, we’ve seen an increase in visitors—and concerns.

We’ve enlisted the additional help of other agencies and organizations: the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the Metro Transit Police Department, Community Ambassadors, Saint Paul Police Reserve officers, Saint Paul parking enforcement officers, Saint Paul Park security officers, and of course your Saint Paul Police Department Downtown Beat officers.

They’re all working together—on the streets and in the skyways—to make sure you, your customers and everyone else is (and feels) safe downtown.

Communication is key.

Of course, they can’t do it alone. Even though you’ll see more friendly faces (and patches) downtown, they’ll still need your help.

So call us. Call us if you see something suspicious. Call us if you see something illegal. Call us if you hear about activities taking place that jeopardize the safety of our downtown streets and skyways.

Together, we can make sure the heart of Saint Paul is as vibrant and safe as ever.

Your voice matters.

One of the most efficient and effective ways to connect with one of our officers is through the voice pager system. It’s fast, easy and will get you a response ASAP:

Call 651-229-1994
Listen for the beep
Leave your name, where you are and a brief description of the situation.

Your voice message will be directed to one of our downtown beat officers, who will respond to your location.

Of course, if you’re experiencing an emergency, you should still call 911.

The right resources to the right places at the right time.

This initiative to increase our presence is all about keeping downtown safe for everyone.

But we know that not every call for service requires the full cavalry. Sometimes we just need to connect a person in need with the right resources at the right time.

And we need your help to get us to the right place. So call us or use the voice paging system, and know that your call doesn’t mean someone is going to go to jail or receive a ticket.

More often than not, we’ll be able to correct the behavior with a friendly conversation. Sometimes we’ll be able to help people by connecting them with our Community Outreach and Stabilization Team, which consists of police officers and social workers. And sometimes we might have to make arrests or issue citations.

You can be sure that every face you see downtown wearing a patch associated with an organization will be committed to solving problems by delivering trusted service with respect.

Together we can make sure everyone is (and feels) safe downtown.

Please always feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

Commander Jeremy Ellison

Saint Paul Police Department, Downtown Beat