The city of St. Cloud is pushing 70,000 residents.
That number will be in the rearview mirror very soon.
More residents means more people and neighborhoods to keep safe and keep their homes from burning down.
It means rolling with the growth. And the city’s police and fire chiefs, Doug Goerke and Jason Miller, laid out how they’re doing it Tuesday morning at the monthly St. Cloud Main Street Breakfast with the Pros gathering.
For instance, Goerke reminded attendees that national security company Vivant named St. Cloud the state’s safest city among those with 50,000-70,000 residents.
“That’s a badge of honor, and it’s also a challenge for us because it’s hard to keep up with that every single year,” said the chief who’s wrapping up his fourth year leading St. Cloud’s law enforcement. “We’re managing the growth very well.”
He shared crime stats—reported differently now from the state level to better break down offenses by group— and that the overall numbers were down year-over-year by 9% in 2024, and they’re down 7% with six weeks left of 2025.
“The one thing that really spiked on us is vandalism, and I’m sure you’ve seen it,” Goerke said.
“We’ve seen people tagging things like electric boxes around the city. We investigated that and we made an arrest. Surprise, surprise. It was somebody from Orlando. Didn’t even live here. We’ve had burglary rings that have come down and hit commercial or new development areas. It’s a rental vehicle and they’re from Orlando. They’re not from St. Cloud— people that come down from outside our area committing crimes against our good people in our community. Sometimes we see that quite a bit.”
And Goerke has no tolerance for that. “If you’re coming into our city to prey on good community members, like every one of you, you’re sorely mistaken,” he said. “We’re going to come after you with the full weight of the police department.
“I don’t put a sign on the front lawn and said, we shut this drug house down. But what you need to know is, I promise you, we’re out there doing our job. We’re out there doing our job to ensure that everything stays safe and people can actually come back and forth and not have to worry about drug traffickers or child predators in this city.”
While Goerke noted arrest numbers are slightly down, juvenile arrests have been nearly cut in half (60 to 35) year over year thanks to his own attempts to do community outreach with those headed down the wrong path.
“I don’t want law enforcement to be a surgical sledgehammer that just goes out and arrests people. That’s not who we are,” he said. “We work together with the community. The first time we’re talking to somebody should not be to ask for their ID.”
You can’t do all that standing pat, so both the police and fire agencies are expanding. A public safety facility on Canoe Creek Road just north of Nolte Road is in the works, as is a new real-time communications and intelligence center that will also house further expansion. The city is building new fire stations in Tohoqua and near Center Lake in Narcoossee and expanding Station 32 on Old Canoe Creek Road near the turnpike interchange. The fire administration is going to be moving a new headquarters building on Progress Lane.
And a record $9.5 million federal SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant allows the city to hire 48 new firefighters and will pay part of their salary.
“All of our future fire stations, we’re not building for today,” Miller said. “We’re building for tomorrow and future. Every station has the capability to up staff with at least one additional unit. Some of the stations, that’s an additional rescue unit. Other stations, it’s an additional engine. If we see an increased level of service where we need to provide an additional unit, we can put them in there.
“Response times have been slowly ticking up. I say I’m thankful for it because it’s going to allow us to staff stations. I say I curse it because we have to hire 48 firefighters, get training, get them on board before March.”
The federal grant also moved up some of Miller’s long-range plans for replacing equipment, he said.
“Had a 20-year vehicle replacement plan, a 10-year personnel plan. Then I had a big SAFER grant, and I threw them all in the trash,” he joked. “A lot of stuff that changed overnight when we got awarded that grant. It stops some of that local talent from going to other cities, but more so it keeps that sense of community when you hire your local kids here. Our fire department is probably one of the best trained fire departments in the state, if not in the country.”
