SunThisweek Community Guides Lakeville Community Guide 2018 | Page 9

LAKEVILLE
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POLICE
Police in the Pan-O-Prog Parade
Police keep the city safe
The Lakeville Police Department aims to reduce
crime and ensure a good quality of life in Lakeville.
The men and women of the Lakeville Police De-
partment accomplish this through patrol work, re-
sponding to calls for service, investigating reports
of public safety concerns and conducting a wide
range of crime prevention efforts.
The Police Department evolved from a single con-
stable on foot patrol into its current form of opera-
tion when Lakeville Township and the Village of
Lakeville united to become the city of Lakeville in
1967.
Today, the Police Department is a modern law en-
forcement agency led by Police Chief Jeff Long with
about 59 professional police offi cers, providing a
wide range of public safety services. It is constantly
seeking ways to improve its efforts, such as the 2019
process of implementing a body-worn camera poli-
cy.
The department has School Resource Offi cers, K-9
units and is part of the Dakota County Drug Task
Force, MAAG (SWAT) and Special Operations Team.
It has a Confl ict Resolution Team, Animal Control
Unit, Community Service Offi cers who patrol parks
and a Police Reserve Unit.
Lakeville ranks No. 88 overall in the top 101 saf-
est cities in America and No. 1 in Minnesota, based
on the 2019 rankings from Safehome.org. They
analyzed data from the FBI to statistically fi nd out
which cities are the safest in the nation.
Every year, the Police and Fire Departments sup-
port National Night Out. This event encourages law
enforcement and communities to strengthen neigh-
borhoods by getting to know one another to keep
communities safe and promote community partner-
ships. National Night Out is not only a fun night out
with your neighbors, the event also sends a message
to criminals that you are standing up against them
by forming an alliance with your neighbors and po-
lice.
The Lakeville Police Department is located at 9237
183rd St. To reach the Police to report an emergency,
crime or tip, dial 911. The webpage is http://www.
lakevillemn.gov/362/Police-Department where it
provides a weekly update along with other infor-
mation that aims to be useful to residents.
Community Guide 2019-20 | LAKEVILLE| 9