Sheriff Stanek's new anti-crime program will remain undercover

Hennepin Sheriff Rich Stanek last week announced the county and a number of private companies and institutions were participating in a new intelligence-sharing effort called Shield. It's probably the last the public will hear about it for a while.

Members of the sheriff's office said at the news conference that the program would issue monthly reports, which would be public. That wasn't correct, said Jon Collins, the sheriff's spokesman. In fact, those reports are internal trend analyses, and there are no plans to issue public reports about the progress of the Shield program, Collins said.

Shield originated as a counterterrorism program from the New York Police Department, but has since expanded to a handful of other law enforcement agencies. Collins said it's an extension of the sheriff's current suspicious activity reporting. He said it's possible that if a partner in the network helps crack a case, say a string of burglaries, then it's possible the Shield connection might be publicized.

Otherwise, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Shield works undercover.