The Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) is the main

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

with jurisdiction over the City of

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, United States. It was established in 1854, making it the oldest police organization in the state. In the beginning the men did not have a stationhouse. Prisoners were taken to the Fort Snelling brig until the city built a

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

. The SPPD is the second largest law enforcement agency in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, after the

Minneapolis Police Department The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesota ...

. The department consists of 575 sworn officers and 200 non-sworn officials.City of St. Paul, MN - Official Website - Police
Saint Paul Police Historical Society — Home
/ref> The current Chief of Police is Axel Henry. He is the 42nd chief in the history of the St. Paul Police Department and was sworn in November 2022.

History

In 1920 St. Paul Councilman and Public Safety Commissioner Aloysius Smith, requested that the St. Paul Police start a Police program for the youth.Origins of the School Safety Patrol, 1921, MNOPEDIA, Minnesota Historical Society website, Eric W. Weber, St. Paul, Minnesota, published: October 29, 201

/ref> Sergeant Frank Hetznecke was selected to create the program. In its first year, 750 students signed up for the training program and in February 1921 the first student monitored crossing took place with students from Cathedral of Saint Paul (Minnesota), Cathedral school on Kellogg Blvd. Sergeant Hetznecke is credited with introducing the

Sam Browne belt The Sam Browne belt is a leather Belt (clothing), belt with a supporting strap that passes over the right shoulder, worn by military and police officers. It is named after Sir Sam Browne, Samuel J. Browne (1824–1901), the British Indian Army G ...

and badge that became synonymous with school patrol across the country and administering St. Paul's program for 30 years. During the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

, the department was remarkably corrupt. In 1936, the chief, Thomas Brown was fired after an investigation showed he had protected criminals including the Dillinger and the Barker-Karpis gangs. An arrest outside of a bar on 26 September 2010 is the subject of a lawsuit that claims excessive force. In March 2011, the elite Gang Strike Force was disestablished when a state audit could not account for 13 vehicles and over $18,000 in cash the unit had seized. The auditor's report indicated that Officer Ron Ryan had sold property his detail had retained. Press reports indicated the unit used money taken from gang members to attend a 2009 professional conference held in Hawaii. The SPPD had two prominent incidents of misconduct in relation to their dogs in 2016 and 2017.

Command structure

NOTE: By contract, all investigators (detectives) hold the rank of sergeant. * The time that a uniformed sergeant holds this rank is shown by arcs below the chevrons, one for each 5 years after promotion. After three are obtained the next 5 year periods give progressively a diamond and then a star in the field between the arcs and chevrons. Although this is analogous to the uniforms of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, no additional command authority is granted.

List of Chief of Police

Department awards

The department has only issued medals / awards since 1971. The current medals are: *Medal of Valor Class A *Medal of Merit Class B *Medal of Commendation *Life Saving Award *Chief's Award For Valor *Chief's Award For Merit *Chief's Award *Officer of the Year *Detective of the Year *Professional Staff of the year

Department size

Like most major cities, the city of St. Paul saw a population decline beginning in the late 1960s. However, the department continued to grow.Saint Paul Police Federation
/ref>

References

External links

Saint Paul Police DepartmentSaint Paul Police Historical SocietySaint Paul Police FoundationSaint Paul Police FederationSaint Paul Police Reserves
*Rare 1941 stop-motion animation color film entitled, "St. Paul Police Detectives and Their Work: A Color Chartoon" {{authority control Government of Saint Paul, Minnesota Municipal police departments of Minnesota 1854 establishments in Minnesota Territory Government agencies established in 1854 Emergency services in Minnesota