The Fergus Falls Police Department actively seeks out community partnerships and provides a number of Community Service Programs including:

Alcohol and Tobacco Best Practices

This program is a proactive effort to educate vendors in Fergus Falls on how to screen for underage persons attempting to procure alcohol or tobacco products illegally. Training sessions are offered free of charge.

Rental Registration

This is a community partnership wherein landlords and law enforcement work together to help screen applicants for rental properties, devise safeguards to keep crime down and to help provide safe housing for people to rent. Contact the City Building Department for more information about this program at 218-332-5434.

Predatory Offender Tracking Program

The Fergus Falls Police Department takes seriously the safety of vulnerable persons in our community, especially children. As a way of ensuring compliance with the terms of their release, officers make personal contact with registered predatory offenders living within the community three to four times per year.

School Resource Officer

This is a collaborative effort with the Fergus Falls School District to provide a visible police officer in the schools to interact with the students. Although crime in our local schools is low, the presence of an officer on site has served to create many positive relationships with young adults and demonstrates a commitment of working with community members to identify and prevent problems in a school setting. The School Resource Officer also talks with students in all grade levels on a wide array of topics.

TRIAD

Triad has two objectives, to reduce crime against Seniors Citizens, and to reduce the unwarranted fear of crime that the elderly often experience. The Fergus Falls Police Department works cooperatively with the Senior Citizens, other law enforcement agencies, and the community to provide crime prevention information and training to the elderly.

Towards Zero Deaths

The Fergus Falls Police Department participates in the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety Safe & Sober program. This is a federal grant program designed to educate the motoring public. The grant focuses on speed reduction, seat belts, and DUI Enforcement.

Child Investigative Team

The Child Investigative Team is a group of Fergus Falls Police investigators and Otter Tail County Human Service child protection members. The team investigates reports of child maltreatment and abuse. Both agencies are then able to share information, use each others expertise, streamline the investigative process and eliminate multiple interviews of young victims.

Otter Tail Safe Community Coalition

The coalition consists of multiple city, county, school, business, private organization and individuals whom actively pursue issues to reduce vehicle accidents in the county. They use a three prong approach of education, engineering and enforcement to achieve this goal.

OTAVA

The Otter Tail Alliance for Vulnerable Adults consists of multiple members that deal with vulnerable adult issues. The alliance is organized so anyone dealing with individuals that may be taken advantage of can network with both public and private resources to assist these individuals. The alliance believes we can connect to protect.

Dive Team

One member of the Police Department currently participates on the Otter Tail County Dive Team. The Public Safety Dive Team consists of citizen volunteers and law enforcement personnel under the direction of the Sheriff. The Dive Team coordinates activities with the Water Patrol Unit and is dedicated to providing high quality service to the citizens of Otter Tail County. Services include surface and underwater searches, underwater victim recovery, evidence recovery, and efforts to increase public awareness of water hazards. Most of the team has had training through Life Guard Systems’ (LGS) Rapid Deployment Search and Rescue/Recovery Course. Most members also have ice dive certification and other advanced diving certifications. The team trains on a monthly basis.

West Central Minnesota Drug Task Force

The Task Force is comprised of six agents from Region IV who work in close cooperation with other drug task force units, the Minnesota BCA and the DEA.

SWAT Team

The Fergus Falls Police Department has six officers who participate on the Otter Tail County SWAT Team. The team trains a minimum of 10 hours per month and hosts a regional SWAT competition annually in Fergus Falls. The SWAT team responds to high-risk incidents and high-risk search and arrest warrant executions.