BCA announces coordinated law enforcement plan to address gang violence

More than 40 law enforcement agencies have agreed to a framework and identified resources for responding to recent gang and group violence in Minnesota. All committed to sharing responsibility and contributing resources to work together to identify offenders and stop gun violence in our communities. The group agreed to use an existing investigative model to coordinate efforts and strengthen collaboration in addressing gang and group violence.

The effort will operate under the umbrella of Minnesota’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC)¹, a data-driven policing approach led by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI. The CGIC will coordinate, deconflict, provide direction and facilitate information sharing to benefit gang-related investigations for all of the agencies involved.

Importantly, the collaboration leans on significant existing law enforcement expertise and partnerships: 

• The BCA’s Violent Crime Reduction Unit² (including BCA agents, criminal intelligence analysts, victim witness coordinators, forensic scientists and partner agency personnel) and its FIRST model, which employs data-driven policing and expedited evidence processing for gun related crimes.
• Multiple county specific multi-jurisdictional enforcement units focused on regional violent crime, gang, drug and violent offender activity. Violent Crime Enforcement Teams (VCET)³ bring together law enforcement resources within counties to address gang and drug crimes. For this effort, multiple existing teams will prioritize this work as part of their ongoing enforcement efforts. 
• The St. Paul Police Department and Minneapolis Police Department have both implemented successful non-fatal shooting teams.  This collaborative will leverage the information and assistance from these teams under this umbrella. 
• Federal partnerships including the ATF and its National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) program connecting firearms evidence with crime incidents and CGIC enforcement model; and the FBI.  The ATF and FBI will utilize their expertise in combating gang and gun violence to focus on the most dangerous individuals to take cases federal to include RICO prosecutions as appropriate.

The plan also employs county-based quick reaction teams for specialized and rapid uniformed patrol and investigative response when criminal activity occurs. This coordination and structure of this collaboration is also scalable and can be increased based on the number of investigations occurring. That includes forming a task force if the need arises.    

This collaboration is modeled after the law enforcement portion of the New Jersey Strategy – a gang and gun violence prevention effort whose law enforcement arm is anchored by intelligence-led policing. 

Formal agreements with all involved agencies are being finalized now, but the coordinated effort is already underway and cases are benefitting from this data-driven collaboration. 

Key partners in this collaboration include the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office⁴, the ATF, Dakota County Sheriff’s Office⁵, FBI, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office⁶, Minneapolis Police Department⁷, BCA⁸, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office⁹ and the St. Paul Police Department¹⁰.

Additional important partners include the Scott County Sheriff’s Office; the Apple Valley, Anoka, Blaine, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Burnsville, Centennial Lakes, Columbia Heights, Coon Rapids, Crystal, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Fridley, Hopkins, Lakeville, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Metro Transit, Minnetonka, New Brighton, North St. Paul, Plymouth, Ramsey, Richfield, Robbinsdale, Rochester, Rosemount, Roseville, Savage, Shakopee, Spring Lake Park, St. Cloud, St. Louis Park and University of Minnesota police departments; the Minnesota State Patrol and West Hennepin Public Safety.

Law enforcement agencies will work in coordination with the Hennepin and Ramsey County attorneys’ offices and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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1. Crime Gun Intelligence Centers focus on immediate collection, management and analysis of gun crime evidence to identify shooters, disrupt criminal activity and prevent future violence. Learn more:  https://crimegunintelcenters.org/.

2. The VCRU includes BCA personnel plus the following partner agencies: the Anoka and Ramsey County sheriff’s offices, the Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Burnsville, Columbia Heights, Crystal, Edina, Fridley, Maplewood, Metro Transit, North St. Paul, Robbinsdale and Roseville police departments and the Minnesota National Guard.

3. These teams exist all across Minnesota and are funded through the Office of Justice Programs.

4. Drug Task Force, Criminal Investigations Division

5. Violent Crime Enforcement Team

6. Criminal Intelligence Division, Hennepin Enhanced Enforcement Team, Violent Offender Task Force, Special Assignment Units, West Metro Drug Task Force, Hennepin Impact Team, Jail Intelligence

7. Gun Intelligence Unit, Firearm Assault Shoot Team

8. Violent Crime Reduction Unit, Forensic Intelligence Response Support and Testing section

9. Violent Crime Enforcement Team, Apprehension Unit, Gun Unit

10. Non-Fatal Shooting Unit, Gang Unit

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