Downtown business owners take action against vandalism – The Collegian

Businesses in downtown Brookings have noticed an increase in vandalism to their storefronts in recent years and are looking for ways to combat the problem.
Business owners are subject to nightly vandalism of their storefronts, with vomit and urine left in doorways and doors and windows shattered. It is hoped that collaboration between multiple organizations will bring about change in this ongoing problem.
Emily Brown, owner of Threads of Memories, has experienced vandalism many times. Ms. Brown said that since she took ownership of the company in January 2021, she has experienced a broken window in October 2021 and a broken door in September 2022. said.
“During that time, countless pizza peels, pizza plates, beer bottles, beer cups, straws, cigarette butts, vomit and urine were all in that doorway,” Brown said.
Asked if the benefits of being downtown outweigh the harms, Brown said: “I live right now feeling really sorry for everything I had to clean up.”
Party Depot owner Cheryl Meyer said her storefront has suffered damage at some point over the past few years, with nearly every window broken. Meyer said vandalism has increased over the past three years.
Small business owners were one of the first groups to reach out to Chief Michael Drake when he took over as police chief in August 2022 to discuss the issue of vandalism downtown. Chief Drake said vandalism has been on the rise in the past few years downtown, with a drop in 2020-2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic and a steady increase since 2021.
“I would say there’s some truth to the increase in these types of crimes,” Chief Drake said. “One thing I can say is I think we’ve leveled this trend out a little bit.” Told.
Chief Drake, as the university and city’s population has increased recently, crime has also tended to increase as well, and many of those crimes are misdemeanors such as vandalism and petty theft.
A variety of people and organizations are involved in the fight against this problem. At the forefront of this issue is Kristen Jesdal, executive director of Brookings Downtown. “We’ve had three different windows vandalized this week alone,” Jesdal said.
One way the city can help with this is by putting together a downtown master plan that analyzes the current state of downtown and creates goals and objectives for what downtown will look like in the future.
“Ultimately, the downtown master plan will guide redevelopment and infrastructure and encourage public and private investment,” said Samantha Beckman, assistant city manager.
High-resolution cameras have been purchased to go downtown and will be connected to the police department’s command center to access and monitor movement downtown.
“We are piloting a camera program that can monitor the front, back and sides of crowded areas in real time,” Jesdal said.
Lt. Terry Coon of the Brookings Police Department said officers are conducting foot patrols downtown at night to increase police presence, as well as on weekend mornings to document damage and littering in the downtown area. He said he was conducting foot patrols.
Jesdal said streetlights often snap off at their base when people hang on to them over broken windows and doors. Young trees planted along sidewalks will not be uprooted and replanted. Among these damages, a major safety hazard is access by people to the roof of the building.
The common act of vandalism, destroying streetlights, is a crime that can lead to hefty fines and jail time. “I would say between $5,000 and $10,000. Anything over $1,000 is a felony,” Lt. Kuhn said. “You’re talking about a serious property crime.”