The Columbia Heights Police Department (CHPD) has initiated a crime reduction strategy this summer.

This initiative seeks to address crime and offenses in the city ranging from crimes against people to enforcement of juvenile offenses, such as curfew and underage drinking offenses.

"Part of the strength of the initiative is that we have formed a number of strong, collaborative partnerships with other law enforcement agencies and community partners," said Columbia Heights Police Chief Scott Nadeau in a press release.

For the summer initiative, the CHPD is partnering with the Anoka County Sheriff's Department, the Fridley Police Department, the Anoka-Hennepin Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force (AHDTF), and the Minnesota Gang Strike Force.

In an interview with Sun Focus, Nadeau said the summer initiative focuses on two components, which include problem people - violent and repeat offenders - and problem areas that relate to many calls the department has received about narcotics activities. Problem areas are also places where the department has seen spikes in violent crime.

"The summer initiative is seeking to address some of those people and those areas in a much more proactive way," said Nadeau. "We're trying to look at issues more holistically and drill [down] what the neighborhood issues are and who the main players are."

He added that the department's holistic view of crime involves expanding the focus from problem houses to a neighborhood level.

Nadeau said it's important to raise questions like: Are kids enrolled in school? Could they benefit from a jobs program?

"We're drilling down a little bit further than typical police responses in the past," he said.

The first phase of the initiative focused on enforcement of juvenile offenses in collaboration with the Fridley Police Department.

A curfew sweep June 6-7 and June 13-14 netted more than 50 arrests and charges for offenses such as curfew, possession of drugs and underage consumption of alcohol.

The juveniles were cited and brought home, said Nadeau, and most of them will appear in juvenile court for their offenses.

He said the CHPD would like to educate parents so that they understand the laws and why it is important to properly supervise their children.

"It's important that we send a message to the youth in our community that if they are on the street late at night they could be victimized or they could be victimizing others, and that is unacceptable," stated Nadeau in the press release.

The CHPD has also partnered with the AHDTF in surveillance and enforcement activities that resulted in 11 arrests, two search warrants and 28 weapons seized since the summer initiative began.

On July 2, Nadeau said that in the previous week, 35 arrests were made, including two felony-level narcotics arrests and three weapons arrests.

Arrests identified potential gang members and helped establish safety and security at the Columbia Heights Jamboree festival, he said.

The number of arrests that have been made demonstrates "we're able to have a significant impact and bring about a sense of safety and security to the community."

The next phase of the summer initiative, which began June 24, involves the formation of a three-officer enforcement team from the CHPD, supplemented by deputies from the Anoka County Sheriff's Department.

"By focusing on problem people and problem places we can more proactively address the crime and livability issues in the community," Nadeau said in the press release.

In the next month or two, Nadeau told Sun Focus the department will continue to evaluate where there are crime issues and work toward efforts to return safety to neighborhoods.

"It's been great for me to come into a situation where there's already a high level of collaboration and cooperation," Nadeau said. "The willingness of some of our partner agencies to step up and work collaboratively has been very encouraging.

"The question is how can we take what is a good working collaboration to the next level in working proactively in exchanging information," he said.

Nadeau said he is "very impressed" with the work of the CHPD and that the summer initiative will help create a roadmap for how the department addresses crime issues in Columbia Heights and Anoka County in the future.

The summer initiative will continue through the end of August. Nadeau said there's potential for the summer initiative to become a full-time program.

He said the CHPD would like to educate parents so that they understand the laws and why it is important to properly supervise their children.

"It's important that we send a message to the youth in our community that if they are on the street late at night they could be victimized or they could be victimizing others, and that is unacceptable," stated Nadeau in the press release.

The CHPD has also partnered with the AHDTF in surveillance and enforcement activities that resulted in 11 arrests, two search warrants and 28 weapons seized since the summer initiative began.

On July 2, Nadeau said that in the previous week, 35 arrests were made, including two felony-level narcotics arrests and three weapons arrests.

Arrests identified potential gang members and helped establish safety and security at the Columbia Heights Jamboree festival, he said.

The number of arrests that have been made demonstrates "we're able to have a significant impact and bring about a sense of safety and security to the community."

The next phase of the summer initiative, which began June 24, involves the formation of a three-officer enforcement team from the CHPD, supplemented by deputies from the Anoka County Sheriff's Department.

"By focusing on problem people and problem places we can more proactively address the crime and livability issues in the community," Nadeau said in the press release.

In the next month or two, Nadeau told Sun Focus the department will continue to evaluate where there are crime issues and work toward efforts to return safety to neighborhoods.

"It's been great for me to come into a situation where there's already a high level of collaboration and cooperation," Nadeau said. "The willingness of some of our partner agencies to step up and work collaboratively has been very encouraging.

"The question is how can we take what is a good working collaboration to the next level in working proactively in exchanging information," he said.

Nadeau said he is "very impressed" with the work of the CHPD and that the summer initiative will help create a roadmap for how the department addresses crime issues in Columbia Heights and Anoka County in the future.

The summer initiative will continue through the end of August. Nadeau said there's potential for the summer initiative to become a full-time program.