ST. CLOUD, MN – The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced the St. Cloud Police Department and the Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation as additional winners of the 2018 L. Anthony Sutin Civic Imagination Award for their partnership to help turn a vacant building in a troubled neighborhood into a hub of health and activity.

The Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation is an initiative led by the private sector, with collaboration from public servants, to create the support structure necessary to build trust – a key component of community policing. They create community outposts in disadvantaged neighborhoods to improve public safety and quality of life.

“The work undertaken by the St. Cloud Police Department is the epitome of community policing,” said COPS Office Director Phil Keith. “We are honored to recognize efforts like their COP House at the Department of Justice. This is a project that we hope other police departments take notice of and try to replicate in their own neighborhoods.”

Wm. Blair Anderson, Chief of the St. Cloud Police Department, stated that, “The award is affirmation and recognition that our efforts are not in vain. It also reminds us and motivates us to remember that although we have excelled and done well in this endeavor, we must continue to work hard to make sure ours is a community that embodies the spirit of cooperation, compassion, and consideration for one another.”

The L. Anthony Sutin Civic Imagination Award is named in memory of Tony Sutin, who served as a founder and deputy director of the COPS Office from its creation in 1994 to 1996. This annual award is bestowed upon a collaborative team of law enforcement and community members whose innovative civic interactions have transformed public safety in their community. The ideal nominee creates community collaborations that are innovative, creative and transformative; displays civic leadership through problem solving and collaborative partnerships; and promotes public safety through dedication to the community policing philosophy.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 130,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.

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