Two officers from the Metro Transit Police Department have been assigned to the Brooklyn Center Transit Center just off Bass Lake Road — part of a cross-agency effort to address public safety issues at the busy bus hub.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Garett Flesland described the partnership as “community driven,” stemming from concerns voiced by residents and business owners about crime in and around the Transit Center.

“The numbers can tell a few different things depending on how you slice them, but this is by far the busiest public space we have in the city, and it’s the most dense area in terms of retail,” Flesland said. “We want to make sure that we really push on prevention.”

While Metro Transit is supplying the manpower, the Brooklyn Center Police Department is offering up space. The two beat cops start and end their shifts at BCPD headquarters. It’s also where they put on their uniforms and park their squad cars when not on the clock.

“They are, in a sense, becoming part of us, but at the same time, we’re becoming part of them,” Flesland said. “I believe each agency, together, through this collaboration, is getting stronger.”

For Flesland, the benefit of the partnership is twofold. He argues the presence of officers at the Transit Center will help stop crime before it happens — and when those officers are at the police station, they’ll share information that can help the BCPD.

“Our two agencies have long shared information… but all of that formal communication, the formal documentation that only takes you so far,” Flesland said. “The more we get to know each other, the more we’re going to share that information with each other that we can’t always capture in a report, or in a document, or in a summary… that’s going to be powerful, because there’s going to be a little nugget of information that’s going to be shared in the hallway one day, and the next week, it’s going to help solve something.”

Officers Charlie Jacka and Patrick Baumgardner started patrolling the Transit Center in mid-July, working from 1-11 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Both were assigned to transit stations in Minneapolis before they interviewed for the new beat in Brooklyn Center.

Metro Transit Police Chief Joe Dotseth said his department is increasingly focused on the beat cop model, which he argued is reducing crime in areas such as downtown Minneapolis and the Hamline-Midway neighborhood in Saint Paul.

“We’re going to take those success stories and make that a success story up here.” Dotseth said. “We’re in the early stages of it, and I think we’re going to hear from not just members of the police department, we’re going to start hearing from people from the community really appreciating this. The communities welcome these officers as they’ve been going out and introducing themselves. It’s been great.”

Dotseth emphasized that the officers stationed in Brooklyn Center were selected based on their performance on other beats.

“Yes, they’re enforcing rules, they’re enforcing laws, but they’re providing service to the community. We are so focused on building that connection with the community,” Dotseth said. “They’re going to build relationships with people. With the transit system, you often see the same people every day. They’re going to build those connections.”

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