The Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce wants to "get to know you."

That's why Chamber Board Chair Jim Swanke created a new initiative. Each quarter, the monthly Chamber luncheons will be in a non-traditional setting - and a little closer to the community.

The Jan. 17 luncheon kicked off the program, featuring the Apple Valley Police as the host. Later, the Chamber will visit School District 196, a fire station, and Apple Valley City Hall.

"This will give the Chamber members an opportunity to interact with the people who serve our community," Swanke said. "I feel it is important that we get to know our police officers, firefighters, city administration and school system."

Apple Valley Police Chief Scott Johnson took the stage before a group of business owners, managers and employees, discussing the history of the department, the ins and outs of police work, and how the community can help fight crime in Apple Valley.

"The community is consistently changing and the Police Department is changing along with it," Johnson said.

He underlined the department's goals within the community and the philosophy of the founding Apple Valley officers.

"Policing is something that is done with the community," Johnson said.

He read off calls that officers responded to throughout the year, from funny to ironic to heartbreaking, giving the business community a peek at the policing.

For instance, there was a man pulled over on Cedar Avenue for speeding - while on his way to the Dakota County Courthouse to pay a previous speeding ticket.

On Christmas, a couple was arrested in a domestic dispute where the woman found text messages on the man's phone from another woman.

Then there were the tragic calls, such as when police found that a mother had died on her daughter's 12th birthday.

"You can't make this stuff up - it's life," Johnson said.

The Apple Valley Police Department consists of 65 employees and is the 16th largest municipal Police Department in the state.

There were 10 robberies in 2006 - all were solved. And more good news, there were no homicides last year.

Capt. John Rechtzigel presented information on the department's support services division, including investigations, dispatch, records and property evidence.

Recently, the department initiated a new program called Neighborhood Collaboration Officer Program (NCop), in an effort to solve neighborhood problems with residents and businesses. The effort involves crime prevention and patrol units along with retail officers and school resource officers sharing information. The program started in October 2006.

Rechtzigel also discussed with the Chamber members the importance of video surveillance in retail businesses. He pointed to the 2005 case of convenience store clerk Nail Mahmoud.

Mahmoud was found in the Quick Stop Gas Station at County Road 42 and Gardenview Drive with a gunshot wound. He died from that injury a few days later. There were no surveillance cameras in the store.

The scene pointed to a homicide, supported by the fact that Mahmoud and his 22-year-old brother had wrestled with and chased off two perpetrators in an attempted robbery just a week earlier.

The storeowner had purchased a gun following the attempted robbery incident. Police concluded that Mahmoud had accidentally shot himself with that very gun. However, Rechtzigel said that if there had been cameras in the store, it would have solved the case much earlier.

Rechtzigel then pointed to the very recent case of a robbery at the Apple Valley Kwik Trip at 145th Street and Cedar Avenue. In that incident, video surveillance captured clear photos of the perpetrator. The suspect was arrested a few days later.

Capt. Michael Marben also spoke to the Apple Valley Chamber members, presenting facts on the patrol division.

"We cannot do our job, we will fail unless we have a community that supports us," Marben said.

Calls for service climbed from 36,000 in 2005 to 41,000 in 2006.

"Every five minutes I have a patrol officer interacting with someone in the community," Marben said. "We are the most visible part of city government."

Traffic citations increased 36.4 percent from 2005 to 2006 with the advent of new technology, he said. Increases were especially seen in the citation of drivers with revoked licenses - because officers can easily check the license plate number from the computers in their squad cars.

"Those are individuals who have no business driving," Marben said.

DUI citations were also up from 228 in 2005 to 311 in 2006, due to the department's emphasis on further enforcement.

Swanke said the awareness that the Apple Valley Police luncheon provided the Chamber was invaluable.

"I encourage members to become more involved with their time and talent to help the Chamber be a positive force within the community," he said. "We want to know what the Chamber is doing right, and also need to know in what area we need to improve."

For more information about the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce or upcoming events, call 952-432-8422 or visit www.applevalleychamber.com.

You are invited to blog your comments about this story on our Web site at www.mnsun.com and/or write a letter to the editor at suncurrentsouth@acnpapers.com.

"You can't make this stuff up - it's life," Johnson said.

The Apple Valley Police Department consists of 65 employees and is the 16th largest municipal Police Department in the state.

There were 10 robberies in 2006 - all were solved. And more good news, there were no homicides last year.

Capt. John Rechtzigel presented information on the department's support services division, including investigations, dispatch, records and property evidence.

Recently, the department initiated a new program called Neighborhood Collaboration Officer Program (NCop), in an effort to solve neighborhood problems with residents and businesses. The effort involves crime prevention and patrol units along with retail officers and school resource officers sharing information. The program started in October 2006.

Rechtzigel also discussed with the Chamber members the importance of video surveillance in retail businesses. He pointed to the 2005 case of convenience store clerk Nail Mahmoud.

Mahmoud was found in the Quick Stop Gas Station at County Road 42 and Gardenview Drive with a gunshot wound. He died from that injury a few days later. There were no surveillance cameras in the store.

The scene pointed to a homicide, supported by the fact that Mahmoud and his 22-year-old brother had wrestled with and chased off two perpetrators in an attempted robbery just a week earlier.

The storeowner had purchased a gun following the attempted robbery incident. Police concluded that Mahmoud had accidentally shot himself with that very gun. However, Rechtzigel said that if there had been cameras in the store, it would have solved the case much earlier.

Rechtzigel then pointed to the very recent case of a robbery at the Apple Valley Kwik Trip at 145th Street and Cedar Avenue. In that incident, video surveillance captured clear photos of the perpetrator. The suspect was arrested a few days later.

Capt. Michael Marben also spoke to the Apple Valley Chamber members, presenting facts on the patrol division.

"We cannot do our job, we will fail unless we have a community that supports us," Marben said.

Calls for service climbed from 36,000 in 2005 to 41,000 in 2006.

"Every five minutes I have a patrol officer interacting with someone in the community," Marben said. "We are the most visible part of city government."

Traffic citations increased 36.4 percent from 2005 to 2006 with the advent of new technology, he said. Increases were especially seen in the citation of drivers with revoked licenses - because officers can easily check the license plate number from the computers in their squad cars.

"Those are individuals who have no business driving," Marben said.

DUI citations were also up from 228 in 2005 to 311 in 2006, due to the department's emphasis on further enforcement.

Swanke said the awareness that the Apple Valley Police luncheon provided the Chamber was invaluable.

"I encourage members to become more involved with their time and talent to help the Chamber be a positive force within the community," he said. "We want to know what the Chamber is doing right, and also need to know in what area we need to improve."

For more information about the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce or upcoming events, call 952-432-8422 or visit www.applevalleychamber.com.

You are invited to blog your comments about this story on our Web site at www.mnsun.com and/or write a letter to the editor at suncurrentsouth@acnpapers.com.