St. Paul DNR office near homeless encampment increases security after rash of break-ins

Following a latest rash of break-ins thefts and vandalism the Department of Natural Tools Region headquarters in St Paul has locked its visitor entrance and increased other defense measures A DNR spokesperson explained the increase in incidents at the Warner Road office coincides with the advancement of an encampment nearby at Pig s Eye Park A person who described himself as homeless was charged in the last few days in connection with one DNR burglary With the closure of a nearby encampment in the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary in January the population at Pig s Eye Park increased from about people to according to Casey Rodriguez a communications manager for the Department of Safety and Inspections The department estimates the encampment presently has residents though exact numbers are hard to pin down because people come and go every day Rodriguez noted The department was first made aware of the Pig s Eye encampment in September The Homeless Assistance Response Association works with the St Paul Fire Department and Neighborhood Alternative Response Exigency Services to conduct fire safety assessments assist with cleaning and connect interested residents at encampments with advocacy services There are no current plans to clear the encampment at Pig s Eye Park mentioned Rodriguez The Homeless Assistance Response Organization gives people at the encampment hot meals and clothes and helps them find housing HART is focused on helping people in the encampments Sydney Kamps an employee at HART stated Housing is a really big issue right now Burglary charge A sign for the Minnesota Department of Natural Information Central Regional Headquarters in St Paul Claudia Staut Pioneer Press A -year-old man was charged Oct with burglary in connection with one DNR happening according to Ramsey County Court records A DNR employee exposed him in one of the garages on Aug with a DNR coat on that did not belong to him A backpack from the garage also was taken St Paul police arrested the man on Oct where they detected him on a stolen ATV He admitted to entering the garage according to the criminal complaint He advised investigators he s homeless and sleeps in a tent according the court records He announced he did not have the backpack or coat with him and that people steal things from his tent The headquarters has documented modern break-ins in fenced areas and storage buildings according to Margaret Snyder media specialist for the DNR They estimate costs of in stolen items and in damage The preponderance expensive items stolen were fishery research equipment ranging in value from to Related Articles Judge turns back Eichorn s attempt to have child solicitation occurrence dismissed Thieves are stealing keyless cars in minutes Here s how to protect your bicycle Communities honor West Virginia National Guard members shot in Washington What we do and don t know about the shooting of National Guard members in DC Suspect in shooting of National Guard members faces murder charge as US halts all asylum decisions Stolen items include hand tools and a boat motor Research equipment vehicles fences and garage doors have been vandalized and damaged Alyssa Arcand general information officer for the St Paul Police Department stated they are working on finding those responsible for the damage vandalism and thefts There were matter reports filed from Aug to Sept There were nine shared incidents in all of at the headquarters and in according to the police department There have been shared incidents in so far The headquarters installed more cameras and increased assurance patrols between July and October Since then they have experienced fewer break-ins thefts and vandalism Visitors need to contact the headquarters to get into the office They have no specific timeline for revisiting how the visitor entrance will operate in the future The headquarters manages fisheries hatchery operations wildlife and forests They also maintain state trails and citizens water access