3.18. SR 09-15-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Highway 101, one of the major arteries from Elk River to the Metropolitan area, has just finished being upgraded. This previously accident ridden two lane highway was upgraded to a nice four lane highway. We believe that this roadway improvement will also make Elk River more inviting to business and residential growth. With the increase in population that our City has experienced, our calls for service and Part I and Part II crimes have increased at a much faster pace than other areas of the State. Part I crimes in 1995 increased thirty-four (34%) over 1994, compared to a State average increase of approximately four percent (4%). In 1995 we had a decrease in Part I crimes. We believe that this is due, in part, to the overall high increase in 1994, the focus of Patrol officers on the high crime locations, and a national downward trend on crime. With the addition of these requested funds and a program for specifically addressing the areas of concern, we believe that we can limit the increase and possibly create another decrease of the targeted crimes. In 1986, the Minnesota State Planning Agency, published a report entitled 'Minnesota 2010 - A Projection of Arrests and Convictions' for Minnesota Counties. This report projected that Sherburne County would experience the highest percentage of change in total arrests of any county in the State. The report projected that Sherburne County would experience a ninety-two percent (92%) increase in arrests by the year 2010. The next closest county was Chisago County with an eighty percent (80%) increase in arrests by the year 2010. The report indicated that by 1990 we would see an increase in arrests by more than twenty percent (20%). The report also indicated that the number of arrests in all of Sherbume County would increase to 1,390 by the year 2010. In fact, we arrested nearly that number (1,150) in Elk River alone in 1995. A large percentage of those were juvenile arrests. Elk River is also the center of Independent School District #728. The school district encompasses five (5) counties and four (4) cities. All of the secondary schools are located in the City of Elk River. Approximately 4,000 teenagers are in our city daily, nine months out of the year. This also makes Elk River a gathering spot for these youths during off' school hours and days. As a result, we end up dealing with other communities' problems in our city. The public concern in all five components from different citizens, groups, and organizations has been already received and is continuing to be received. When planning for these projects, we will be looking to past crime trends and statistics as to when and where to concentrate our efforts. We will also be looking to business owners (like the Chamber of Commerce, Mall Associations), neighborhood groups (like neighborhood watch groups), and individual citizens for input as to where, when, and how (or alternative methods) to concentrate our efforts.