Transcripts

GARY: Well, Mayor Coleman joins us now to discuss is new effort in this regard. Morning, Mayor.

MAYOR COLEMAN: Good morning, Gary.

GARY: How does this new program of yours, safe city, Saint Paul, differ from existing community block programs, community policing programs and the like?

MAYOR COLEMAN: Well, in a couple of ways. First, the safe cities are going to come about not just from having the police do their job. That's a big part of it. We've got a great police department in Saint Paul, but safe city is going to come about by neighborhoods coming together, focusing on the resources that are already out there. So we're not-- I'm not looking to reinvent and simply to create something out of thin air and say, we're going to have safer neighborhoods.

But I think what we can do is a better job of pulling together those resources. One of the first things we've got to do is identify what works out there, and we're doing what we call neighborhood safety audits. We're actually going into the community, talking to the kids, talking to the seniors, finding out what is it that makes people feel safe, both physical and social characteristics that make a neighborhood feel safe. We identify those things, share them with city staff, businesses, neighborhood organizations. We can then prioritize an action agenda to make sure that our neighborhoods are safer.

GARY: So it's more of a study as opposed to sending out 25 new cops or something like that?

MAYOR COLEMAN: Yeah. Well, I hate to say studies because it's a little bit more than that one. The police, by the way, are part of this. And I made a campaign pledge to put 30 more cops on the street. And we will do that. In fact, I'll be announcing in my budget next week that we will finalize our plan to put more cops on the street. But one of the beauties of neighborhood night out is that it signals that the real answer to safer communities lies in the neighborhoods it lies in, what people are doing in the neighborhoods.

We've got to do a better job of identifying what works and then connecting people to that. And so that's what we're prepared to do in Saint Paul. Neighborhoods that are safe for kids, and neighborhoods that are safe for everyone. We need to identify what's going on in terms of youth development, in terms of economic development, in terms of community development, and we're going to build it at the neighborhood, at the local level. And that's the-- it's more a plan of action rather than a study. It's a plan of action that I believe can be very successful there.

We've actually modeled it. Some things have been going on in Canada that we've looked at this and other places in the United States. I wish I could say I created it out of whole cloth. But we're looking at building upon what others have done to put together a plan of action to build safer neighborhoods in Saint Paul.

GARY: Mayor Coleman, community programs of one sort or another, block programs have been tried for years and yet the fear of crime, forget about the crime rate, the fear of crime seems to be up substantially. Why do you suppose that is? You'd think it would work the other way around.

MAYOR COLEMAN: Well, actually, I think they've made a difference. You got to ask the question. What if they weren't there? What if you didn't have block clubs organizing in neighborhoods? What if you didn't have neighborhood watches? What if you didn't have neighbors coming together concerned about safety on their block? I think we'd be in a terrible situation. The fact is that Saint Paul, for instance, is a relatively safe city, and I believe in large measure, it's because of the good things going on in neighborhoods.

But you're right. The fear, the perception of crime is sometimes-- is actually more devastating than actual crime statistics. If people are afraid, then they stay locked in their homes. If people are afraid, they become prisoners in their own back yard. And so part of what we need to do, and I think block clubs and neighborhood crime watches and local business associations all play a role in connecting people so that they have a greater sense of safety and security. They're willing to enjoy their neighborhood. And if they do that, if they feel safer, they act safer. And in the end, you become safer.

So I would raise the question, what if we didn't have those things going? We would be in difficult circumstances. We are a relatively safe urban community. Block clubs are a big part of that. I want to build upon that. And I want to work with I-- want to do more with the things that are working.

GARY: Finally, very briefly, where do you see the trend going? Do you think people are starting to feel safer again or have we bottomed out yet?

MAYOR COLEMAN: I certainly believe, and I spent a lot of time walking the streets in Saint Paul, being in the neighborhoods, that people are feeling safer, that we're doing a better job of connecting as a community. We are building a sense of community, and I really think that that's working. The problem is that the crime stats are going to move up simply by the fact that we've got more kids out there, and when you have more kids between 13 and 21, you're going to have higher crime rates. But if people feel safer, if they feel connected with what's going on in the neighborhood, then they will act safer and be safer. I think we're moving forward. It feels good in Saint Paul. It is good. We're going to make it better.