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Maplewood accepts 2024 public safety report highlighting hires, new equipment and high auto-theft clearance rate
Summary
The City Council accepted the 2024 Maplewood Public Safety Report, which highlighted investments in personnel wellness, leadership training, a new ladder truck and incident command vehicle, a tethered drone capability and a roughly 67% auto-theft clearance rate compared with a ~10% national average.
Maplewood — The City Council on Feb. 24 accepted the 2024 Annual Public Safety Report after a presentation by Public Safety Director Bearden that emphasized staffing, training and equipment upgrades.
Public Safety Director Bearden highlighted a department focus on wellness and training, including a 2024 partnership that implemented customized cardiac screening for police, fire and EMS personnel. He said the department has pursued diverse hiring and professional development, noting that the command staff completed an FBI leadership program and that Chief Mondor earned executive fire officer certification for work including outreach to the Hmong community.
Bearden described major equipment additions in 2024: a new ladder truck (500-gallon tank, foam capacity and enhanced safety features), an advanced incident command vehicle that functions as a mobile headquarters and upgrades to the drone program, including a tethered drone and interior-capable drones for building access. These assets, he said, improve response for both planned events and emergencies.
The report included operational metrics: 28 patrol officers and 35,709 police calls for service in 2024, and a combined fire and EMS caseload of 8,092 calls (an increase of about 1.5% from the previous year). Bearden highlighted a specialized auto-theft detective funded through a Minnesota Department of Commerce grant and said Maplewood’s clearance rate for auto thefts is about 67%, compared with a national average of roughly 10%.
Councilmembers praised the report. Councilmember Lee said the department had set “the bar high” for community-focused service, and council moved to accept the report by roll call.
Director Bearden also said the department will continue traffic safety work, enforcement and data collection to respond to resident concerns raised later in the meeting about speeding on Prosperity Road.
