Policy Manual
The St. Anthony Police Department is committed to being as transparent as possible with the community we serve. In light of that commitment, we have made our entire police policy manual available to the public. All employees are required to familiarize themselves with and ensure adherence to the policies contained in this manual.
In regard to background, a primary goal of the police department was to complete a review and update of our Police Department Policy Manual. This was a significant project that was started in January of 2019 and completed in December of 2019, (Winter 2020 Newsletter Article). All members of the department completed online training modules designed to enhance retention of policy content and provide personnel with real life policy application scenarios. Officers were required to acknowledge and sign off on all policies. Each month, officers receive a daily web based training bulletin that they must review followed by several questions that must be answered in order to confirm that they have grasped the learning objective and completed the training.
We evaluated and contracted with an outside resource, LEXIPOL, to ensure that we adhered to policy development that was grounded in Federal, State and local laws and included pertinent case law. We consulted the Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board model policy, along with model policy drafted by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust. We chose to focus on industry best practices as outlined in recommendations set forth by the Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Objectives housed under this goal included; evaluating police policies to ensure that they reflect the vision and mission of the city and police department, along with evaluating policies to ensure that they reflect principles that are consistent with those pertaining to Procedural Justice/Fair & Impartial Policing.
If there is a question of the interpretation of this manual, that interpretation rests with the Chief of Police. If there are recommendations for constructive changes to improve efficiency and effectiveness of our service, members of the community, as well as employees, can submit those recommendations to the Chief of Police. This manual will be updated, as necessary, to reflect changes in the law, personnel responsibilities, department strategic plan and department goals and objectives.
As the Chief of Police, I am very proud of our Police Department and every member of our agency. Each and every day our employees act with professionalism and dedication that often times goes unnoticed. I am confident that together we can continue to work towards making our agency and community a better place to live, work and play. There is no question in my mind that our police department is staffed by professional, well qualified, eager and dedicated professionals that care about the communities they serve.
Jon Mangseth, Police Chief