July/August 2020
Page 3
Blaine Police Department Message to the Community
Your Blaine Police Department is committed to working in partnership with others in our community to make this the greatest place it can be. A couple years ago, we worked diligently to build a foundation of ideals upon which our organization is built. All members of the Blaine Police Department are expected to memorize and live this mission statement and integrated core values. That mission statement reads:
‘As proud members of our community, we, the members of Blaine Police Department, strive to enhance the quality of life in Blaine by serving with integrity, respect, and professionalism’. ‘As proud members of our community…’ We take great pride in what we do and it is an honor to serve you in good times and in bad. In policing, one of the current problems we have is when we talk about police-community relations; we treat them like two distinct entities. This creates a foundational separation rather than unity. In the belief that we are members of our community, we take ownership in our collective successes and failure. We are an important part of the community, with the ability to not only keep you safe but take away the freedoms and even possibly the lives of others in our community. I can assure you we do not take this lightly and believe strongly in the sanctity of life for everyone here.
‘…we, the members of the Blaine Police Department…’ Our mission statement is intentionally written to reflect an oath of sanctity. We take our responsibilities seriously and recognize the critical importance of the functions we provide. We believe it is truly an honor to be part of this profession and this incredible department.
‘…strive to enhance the quality of life in Blaine…’ We are always working to make Blaine a better place. This certainly includes our residents, but additionally those who work here, the millions who visit here every year, and travel through here. We are fortunate to play host to many events for people from all over the world. We want your lives and your time here in Blaine to be the best that it can be.
‘…by serving with integrity, respect, and professionalism…’ Integrity, Respect and Professionalism are our core values. Integrity: we will maintain the highest moral standards by embracing the principles of trust and honesty. In the law enforcement profession, our integrity is imperative. We often have a difficult job to do but it is important we are always truthful and honest with those we serve as well as ourselves. Respect: we will treat others with dignity and guarantee the constitutional rights of all. It is our job to not only enforce the law, but protect the constitutional rights of all those who we serve. We believe in compassionate service to others and treating everyone with respect regardless of the circumstances we are encountering them on. In public safety we work with people from all walks of life and for many of the people who we encounter, their dignity and self-respect are all that they have left. It is imperative that we treat everyone as fellow human beings and respect them as individuals. Professionalism: we will take pride in our actions, duties, appearance, and professional growth. As professionals we take our role very seriously. We take our training seriously and we train our staff to the highest level possible. We believe in a professional appearance and conveying confidence and professional service to all those we are fortunate to serve. In light of recent events across the country, we collectively feel it is important to provide a message to our Blaine community, especially our indigenous communities and our communities of color, and seek your assistance in ensuring that together we are providing the best services possible to you. We have been contacted from many members of our community with questions, requests, and significant outpourings of support. We sincerely appreciate the support and we want you to know that we want to work collectively with you to make the Blaine Police Department the best that it can be for you. We regularly evaluate our training and hiring process to seek a department that is reflective of our community. Of greater importance is taking active steps to educate our staff on the variety of cultures we have in our community and the importance of treating all with respect. We have strict policies in place to ensure accountability for our officers that specifically pertain to matters of racial bias. Our Administrative Services division supervisors actively monitor, review, and if necessary investigate, every use of force incident. If it becomes necessary to do an administrative employment investigation into a staff member we have the ability to do an investigation by internal staff specifically trained to handle this. We also hire independent investigators to investigate policy and employment violations. The administrative penalties associated with this can range from verbal counseling in less serious matters up to termination in very serious matters. We are constantly evaluating our policing to ensure we are doing everything we can to prevent any injustice, including racial injustices. In late 2017, we did an internal policy review, including our use of force policy. We also overhauled our use of force review processes to ensure transparency and accountability. In 2020 we are reviewing and amending our entire policy manual and overhauling all of them in conjunction with Lexipol, a National Law Enforcement policy company that not only ensures policies are legal and defensible, but best practices as well. All of our staff is subject to pre-employment psychological exams and mandatory annual wellness check-ins with a therapist. When new officers start, within their first couple of days of employment, the command staff members sit down with them individually to talk about culture and expectations. One of the items we spend a considerable amount of time on is duty to intervene. We have to empower our officers to be brave enough to step in when an incident is occurring of excessive force or other significant matters. Our city takes the training of our officers very seriously. Blaine has historically committed to high quality police training by providing the resources needed to conduct the best possible training. Better training leads to better performance under stress, which in turn ensures better decision making by officers in uncertain and rapidly evolving circumstances. We are eager to listen and continue to engage with others in our community. We know that there may be difficult yet necessary conversations and decisions ahead. Together we will make Blaine an even greater community than it already is. To read more or submit comments, questions, or concerns, please visit BlaineMN.gov/PoliceCommunity.
The Beach is Open Lakeside Commons
Lakeside Commons Beach is open to the public. With the transition into phase three of Minnesota’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic additional outdoor activities are able to be open. City staff and the Blaine City Council moved to quickly open up this popular amenity for the community. The city will take a phased approach to opening the beach amenities. The beach area will be open and there will be staff on site during beach hours, 10AM – 8PM daily. The beach attendant will enforce beach rules and remind beach users to follow social distancing guidelines. Please note that the attached Lakeside Commons Park closes daily at 9PM, which is one hour earlier than other parks in the city. At this time, only the beach will be open. The splash pad, boathouse, restroom building, volleyball court, and changing facilities will remain closed. Additional portable restrooms will be placed near the beach. The city is projecting a downturn in revenue due to COVID-19 and each amenity brings added costs in terms of staffing and operation. The city is happy to be able to open the beach and additional amenities will be evaluated as the season continues. When using the beach and park please remember to maintain six feet of distance between other park users. Also, please remember to pick up after your group when using the park. The Blaine Police Department will be on site frequently to ensure that visitors are obeying park rules and hours. For the current status on the beach and other events and programs, visit BlaineMN.gov/ParkRecStatus
