The Crystal Police Department will have a few more officers on staff to help fight crime. The two new positions will be paid for by a U.S. Department of Justice grant.
"We're very fortunate to have this grant," said Crystal Police Chief Stephanie Revering. "We have actually been putting in for this grant for the last several years, have never received it for the last 15 years."
Crystal was awarded a $250,000 COPS grant, which is dedicated to community policing. The city will have a period of three years to spend the money. Crystal also plans to use the funds to improve transparency with the rollout of new body cameras at the beginning of 2017.
Some of the money will also be used to expand the role of the city's community engagement liaison officer, who is responsible for events like "Jail and Bail," "Shop with a Cop," and monthly community meetings. The department is about to start is "Coffee with a Cop" program.
Chief Revering says it's essential to have good relations with the community.
"With the scrutiny on law enforcement right now it is very important that we collaborate with our partners, with the citizens, with our business community," said Revering.
There's still some details that need to be worked out. The city will have to decide if they'll be able to sustain the officer salaries when the grant runs out in three years.
Only two other Minnesota police departments received grants: Pipestone and West St. Paul. Officials with the Crystal Police Department plans to discuss details of the grant at the next city council meeting.
Sonya Goins, reporting
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Channel 12 is on Comcast cable in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
