City of Perham Minnesota

Police Department • Community Policing

CVSA Computer Voice Stress Analyzer: The Perham Police Department owns the only CVSA equipment north of Minneapolis/St. Paul. CVSA is a new form of polygraph test and is used to aid in investigations and to reveal truthful vs. deceptive responses through analysis of subject's voices. The equipment was purchased in 2001 and is used by the Perham Police Department in local investigations and to assist other law enforcement agencies in their investigations. Perham Police Department Officers have undergone training to be certified CVSA examiners. for additional information on CVSA, please contact the Perham Police Department at 218-346-4452 or send e-mail to: brian.nelson at cityofperham.com. Please replace the word "at" with the @ symbol.

Drug Abuse Resistance Education: The Police Department currently provides D.A.R.E. education training to one private school in Perham. D.A.R.E. is a collaborative effort by Police, school, students, parents and the community to offer an educational program in the classroom to prevent or reduce drug abuse and violence among children and youth. The emphasis of D.A.R.E. is to help students recognize and resist the many direct and subtle pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants, or other drugs or to engage in violence.

: The Police Department participated in a wide variety of areas with the MN Safe N Sober challenge. This program is designed to heighten public awareness in the areas of seatbelts, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and it is our effort to decrease the number of alcohol related driving accidents. Last year in Minnesota, traffic crashes cost 1.5 billion dollars, killed 600 and injured 46,064 people. Traffic crashed are a leading cause of death for children, teenagers and adults under the age of 30. Before beginning your celebrations, designate a sober driver. Hosts of holiday parties must remember to serve non-alcoholic beverages, make plenty of food available to guests and be responsible for their travel home following a gathering. We would also like to remind drivers and passengers to wear their safety belts at all times. Safety belts are your best defense against an impaired driver.

Child Fingerprint: The Perham Police Department and the Perham Area Day Care Providers Association conduct an annual child fingerprint program. This is usually held during the winter/early spring months at the Community Center during their annual trade show. There is no fee for the fingerprints and photographs of your child. The fingerprints and photograph are given to the parent for safekeeping.

Crosswalk Safety: We feel that crosswalk safety needs to be a priority in our community. We have joined other communities around the state in a crosswalk safety campaign to bring the new law to the attention of motorists in our city. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of Minnesota's pedestrian safety law and to increase the number of drivers who stop for pedestrians at intersections. The law requires vehicles to stop and yield the right of way to pedestrians at all marked an unmarked crosswalks which are not controlled by a traffic signal. The Police Department has placed oversized "Yield to Pedestrians in Crosswalk" signs at the main primary crosswalks in the downtown are of Perham. We will be doing news releases to bring education to the public and will be conducting surveys to measure the effectiveness of the program. Our officers will also be enforcing the new law by issuing tickets to motorists who fail to yield to pedestrians.

Bike Rodeo: The Police Department participates on a yearly basis with Perham Lions Club to bring a I day clinic, and bike rodeo to the youngsters of the Perham area. The clinic includes bike registration, bike safety check, obstacle course, drawing an giveaways for prizes. During the rodeo bike helmets are on sale for a nominal price. The Police Department and Lions Club, send flyers home with elementary students in the spring of the year as to when the clinic is. If you are interested in registering your bicycle you can do so by bringing your bike to the Police Department, there is a $1 fee for the registration.

Officer Friendly & Fatal Vision: The Police Department also does presentations in the schools regarding police officers, and safety tips to younger students. For older students talks are given to drivers education classes that include presentation with Fatal Vision goggles. These goggles simulate a person under the influence of alcohol and demonstrate first hand the effects of alcohol on a person. The goal is to deter drivers from making the deadly choice of drinking and driving.

Juvenile Liaison Officer: Began during the 2000 school year, the Juvenile Liaison Officer Program is an excellent way to build a positive relationship between the Perham Police Department and teachers and students in the public schools in Perham. The Liaison Officer does presentations relating to drugs and alcohol, tobacco, violence, and safety issues and spends a minimum of 20 hours per week in the school buildings.

Reserve Officer Programs: The Perham Police Department has an active reserve officer unit. This unit is made up of volunteers from the community, that assist the department in a wide variety of areas some of which include: Door security checks of businesses, residential checks, patrol, bike safety, traffic control, security, and other community policing type programs. The reserve officers participate in training programs within the department on a regular basis. The Police Department is always looking for self motivated, trustworthy, people to join the team. If you are interested in becoming a reserve officer here is how to do it:

Must be a minimum of 21 years of age. An exception is made if you are currently enrolled in a law enforcement program at a college.
Good driving record.
Good physical condition.
Resident of the Perham area
High School graduate or equivalent
Must be willing to submit to a background investigation and not have been convicted of a felony or gross misdemeanor crime.
Must be willing to put in a minimum of 90 hours per year. Note: Approximately 40 hours of this is in training.

If you would like to join the team, you can fill out the application form by clicking here. If you have any questions you can contact Chief Brian Nelson or Officer Todd Sandahl at 218-346-4452.

Past and Present Reserve Officers	Began	Retired
Bob Kinlund	1970	2000
Rick Tommervik	1972	2001
Stan Wielinski	1972	2002
Dale Wright	1975
Jeff Williams	2000
Ken Wick	2001
Larry Refsland	2001
Tim Fowler	2002


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